You'll Ask For Me
by Miss E Charlotte
Summary: You know about all the other characters in Mystic Falls, now meet Marissa Forbes, Caroline's little sister. Follow her as she deals with love, heartache, and the supernatural stuff in town • Slight AU • TylerxOCxJeremy • Season One - Complete • Season Two - In progress
1. Pilot:Part 1

**Pilot | Part One  
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Caroline Forbes sighed in frustration as she glanced at the time on her cell phone before looking at her fifteen year old sister's bedroom door. If her sister, Marissa didn't wake up soon, they were both going to be late for the first day of school.

After finally realizing Marissa wasn't going to wake up on her own, Caroline walked over to the bedroom door and softly knocked.

When she didn't get an answer from the young girl on the inside of the room, Caroline opened the door and poked her head inside. She rolled her eyes when she saw that her sister was still laying in the middle of her queen sized bed, fast asleep.

"Rissa?" Caroline whispered, as she walked into her room.

After not getting an answer, she called out her sister's name again, louder this time.

"What?" Marissa groaned without opening her eyes.

"Get up." Caroline answered, then added,"It's the first day of school."

"So?" Marissa mumbled.

"So, we can't be late."

"No, you can't be late, I don't care if I'm late." Marissa said, as she tried to ignore her big sister. She rolled from one side to her other side, with her back toward Caroline.

Caroline didn't say anything as she walked across the floor to the bed, she pulled the zebra printed comforter and sheet off of Marissa and tossed it into the floor.

"What the hell, Care? I'm trying to sleep here." Marissa called out, as she sat up in bed and pushed her long blonde hair out of her face.

"And now you're not, so get up." Caroline said, as she turned around and quickly left the bedroom.

"God, Caroline, you are such a bit-"

"Don't even think of finishing that sentence." Caroline yelled out, interrupting her.

"Bitch." Marissa finished quietly to herself.

"I heard that." Caroline called out.

Marissa groaned as she pushed herself out of the bed, as much as she wanted to just lay back down and go to sleep, she knew it was best not to push Caroline. She could be extremely bossy when she wanted to be, which was 99.9% of the time.

Marissa walked over to her closet and stared at all of her clothes as she tried to figure out what to wear, unlike Caroline, she didn't lay out what she wanted to wear the night before.

"Why don't you wear your new sundress?" Caroline suggested, as she stood behind her sister.

"It's too preppy for the first day." Marissa said, as she grabbed the dress from the hanger. It was a white sundress with spaghetti straps that had dark pink flowers on the bust and at the bottom, which stopped right at her knees.

"But you said you loved it." Caroline pointed out.

"And I did, but now I'm not sure." Marissa said, as she looked down at the dress and bit her bottom lip in thought.

"Well I think it's beautiful and I think you look beautiful in it." Caroline said smiling.

"Thanks, Care, but I'm still not sure."

"I totally think you should wear it." Caroline suggested, then added,"And you can wear the necklace Jeremy gave you."

Marissa smiled when she thought about the necklace her best friend, Jeremy, gave her on her last birthday. It was a sliver chain with a small sterling silver charm in shape of a four-leaf clover. When he gave it to her, he said since she was so clumsy, she needed all the good luck she could get.

"Okay. I think I will wear the dress and the necklace too." Marissa said, as she continued to smile.

"Great, now how should we do your hair? Up or down?" Caroline asked.

"How about down, with lots of curls." Marissa suggested.

"That would look great." Caroline squealed, then added with a laugh,"Aw my baby sister is going to be the best looking girl at school, after me of course."

"Okay, Care. Don't get carried away." Marissa said, as she laughed at her sister.

"Hey, I can't help us Forbes girls look good." Caroline joked, causing her younger sister to laugh.

"Okay, I'm going to go take a quick shower." Marissa said, as she grabbed her clothes then headed toward the bedroom door to walk out.

"Alright, when you're done, I'll do your hair and make-up." Caroline called out.

"Okay." Marissa said, as she reached the doorway, then she stopped and turned around to say,"Hey, Care?"

"Yeah?" Caroline asked, as she turned around to look at her.

"Thanks." Marissa said with a grateful smile.

"No problem, little sis." Caroline said smiling back.

_- (o0o) -  
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"You got everything?" Caroline asked Marissa, as she exited the car after Caroline parked the car in the school parking lot minutes later.

"Yeah, I think so." Marissa answered, as she placed the big black shoulder bag she used for a book bag on her shoulder.

"Oh, wait, here's your lunch money." Caroline said, as she grabbed a ten dollar bill out of her purse and handed it to her sister.

"Thanks." Marissa mumbled, as she slipped the money into her bag.

"Hey, there's Bonnie and Elena." Caroline said, as she looked over at her friends; who were walking inside the school.

"I should go check on Elena, will you be okay?" Caroline asked her sister.

"Yeah, I'm just going to go find Jeremy." Marissa said, as she began to walk across the parking lot.

"Alright, I'll see you later." Caroline called out.

Marissa waved to her sister, as she continued to walk closer to the school. She walked over to the side of the building where she knew Jeremy would be; the stoner pit.

Since his parents died months ago, she knew he had started taking drugs and even though he knew she wasn't happy about it, he kept doing it, which she blamed Vicki Donovan for. Marissa knew as soon as Jeremy started hanging around Vicki that he would pick up her life style.

"Hey, Jer." Marissa called out, as soon as she saw him.

"Hey, there's my girl." Jeremy said happily, as he threw an arm around her shoulder.

"Okay, one; I am not your girl." Marissa said, as she pushed his arm off her shoulder, then added,"And two; please don't tell me you are already high?"

"Okay I won't tell you then." Jeremy joked.

"Jeremy, this is serious, it's the first day of school." Marissa said, then added,"You promised you would quit before the first day."

"I know, I'm sorry, Ris." Jeremy said sincerely.

Before Marissa could say anything back, Vicki walked up to them and said,"Hey, Jeremy."

"Hey Vicki, what's up?" Jeremy said to her smiling.

"Nothing much, you got something for me?" Vicki asked.

"Yeah." Jeremy answered, as he handed her some pills then said,"Don't take more than two in a six-hour window."

Marissa rolled her eyes as she watched what was taking place in front of her, she couldn't believe that not only was Jeremy taking drugs, but he was also dealing them too.

"Hey, Vicki. I knew I'd find you here with the crackheads." Tyler said sarcastically, as he walked up to them.

"Hey." Vicki said, smiling at Tyler. Causing both Marissa and Jeremy to roll their eyes.

"Hey, Pete Wentz called. He wants his nail polish back. " Tyler said, as he looked over at Jeremy with a smug smile.

"Pete Wentz, huh? How old school T.R.L. of you. Carson Daly fan?" Jeremy said sarcastically to Tyler.

"Oh, Ty, be nice. That's Elena's little brother." Vicki said.

"I know who he is. I'll still kick his ass." Tyler warned.

"Come on, Jer, let's go." Marissa said, as she grabbed Jeremy's arm and began to walk away.

They had only taken a few steps when Tyler said,"Wait hold up, is that little Rissa?"

Marissa turned around to face Tyler then said,"Yeah, Tyler, it's me."

"Damn girl, when did you get all grown up?" Tyler asked, as he flashed her his flirty grin that he knew drove all the girls wild.

Marissa blushed then said,"I hit a growth spurt over the summer."

"Well you're looking good, Baby Forbes." Tyler said, still smiling.

"Thanks." Marissa said.

Vicki scoffed as she grabbed Tyler's arm then said,"Let's go, Ty."

"See ya around, Rissa." Tyler called out, as Vicki dragged him away.

"Bye." Marissa called out.

Once Tyler and Vicki was gone, Marissa turned to Jeremy and said,"Oh, my God, can you believe that?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes but didn't say anything as he began to walk away. It angered him to see Tyler being flirty with Marissa, even though he knew it made Marissa happy since she had a crush on Tyler for years, it made him sick to his stomach.

In Jeremy's mind, Marissa was his. His best friend, his first love, his everything, only she didn't know that and never would.

"I just can't believe he talked to me, I mean I've been hoping he would notice me, but I never thought he would talk to me." Marissa said excitedly, as she walked along beside Jeremy.

"Congrats, Rissa, the dick spoke to you. Can we move on from this conversation now?" Jeremy asked.

"I just don't understand why you hate him so much, Jer." Marissa asked, confused.

"Cause he's a dick and you deserve better." Jeremy answered.

"And you deserve better than going after Tyler's sloppy seconds." Marissa snapped, talking about Vicki.

"Whatever, Rissa." Jeremy mumbled, as he walked into the school building to get away from her. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with her.

"Wait, Jer, I'm sorry." Marissa called out, as she ran along behind him.

Marissa sighed when Jeremy ignored her and went into the boy's restroom. She glanced off to the side and saw Elena and Bonnie talking, she knew Jeremy might get mad at her about what she was about to do, but she hoped he would forgive her in time.

"Hey." Marissa said, as she walked up to the two girl.

"Hey, Rissa." Bonnie and Elena said, as they both quickly hugged the girl they considered a little sister.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Elena asked, when she noticed the concern look on Marissa's face.

"It's Jeremy." Marissa said softly.

"What did he do now?" Elena asked with a sigh.

"I'm worried about him, Elena, I'm pretty sure he's high on something right now and I just saw him giving away pills." Marissa explained.

Elena groaned then said,"Don't worry about it, Rissa, I'll take care of him."

"Thanks, Elena." Marissa said sincerely.

"No problem." Elena said, then asked,"Where did he go?"

"Bathroom." Marissa answered, as she pointed to the bathrooms Jeremy just went into.

"Alright, I'll go talk to him. You just get to class. Caroline will be pissed if you're late." Elena said to the younger girl.

"Okay." Marissa said softly. She still felt bad for telling on Jeremy, but she only did it cause she was worried about him and she hoped Elena could get through to him.

"I'll be right back." Elena said, as she walked into the bathroom to have a quick word with her brother.

"Please be hot." Bonnie said, as continued to look at the new guy that she and Elena were looking at before Marissa walked up.

"Who are we looking at?" Marissa asked, as she looked in the direction that Bonnie was staring in.

"New guy." Bonnie answered, as she nodded her head toward the dark-headed guy wearing a dark jacket.

"Hey, he's cute." Marissa said, as he turned around, then she added with a laugh,"I bet you Caroline is going to be all over him."

"I bet you're right." Bonnie said laughing.

"Alright, I better get to class." Marissa said, then added,"Talk to you later, Bon."

Bonnie waved to the girl as she watched the new guy walked out of the front office and toward the bathroom. She couldn't help but laugh when Elena walked out and bumped into him.

_'This is going to be an interesting year.'_ Bonnie thought to herself. If only she really knew.

_- (o0o) -  
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_a/n - hey all, I decided to start a new vampire diaries story. This will follow along with the show starting with the first episode as you can see, but with Caroline having a sister. Following along with the show is a first for me, so I hope you enjoy it. Since the episodes are long which will make chapters long I decided to break up the episode, but if you would like a full chapter being an episode let me know. Lastly I wanted to give a special shout-out to KyroxIsxSmexy for all of your help on this chapter and the story. Thank you!_


	2. Pilot:Part 2

**Pilot | Part Two  
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After school, Marissa laid across her bed on her stomach as she begin to work on her homework. She couldn't believe some of her teachers had already assigned homework on the first day of school.

Marissa was concentrating so hard on the math problem she was working on, she didn't hear any one enter the house until Caroline walked into her bedroom.

"Hey sis, I was surprised to see you wasn't at the grill after school." Caroline said, as she walked across the floor then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, I decided to come home and get started on homework." Marissa explained.

"Since when do you care about homework?" Caroline asked with a laugh.

"I don't." Marissa answered with a laugh of her own, as she sat up on the bed then said,"But I was hoping if I finished it, you would let me go with you to the party."

"What party?" Caroline asked, playing dumb.

"Oh, come on, Care, I know there's always a back to school party at the falls."

"Oh, right, that party." Caroline joked.

"So can I go this year?" Marissa asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

"I don't know." Caroline said, as she pretended to think about it.

"Please, Care, please." Marissa begged, as she poked out her bottom lip.

"Okay, fine, you can go." Caroline said laughing, then added,"But I get to pick out what you wear cause if you're going to be seen with me, then you have to look hot."

"Alright deal." Marissa said laughing.

Caroline stood up from the bed then walked over to the closet. She turned around and said,"But there will be no drinking, no wandering off and no making out with boys."

Marissa rolled her eyes then said,"Fine, besides the only boy I'll be around is Jeremy."

"Like I said though, no making out." Caroline warned.

"Of course I won't make out with Jeremy, he's my best friend." Marissa said laughing.

"Yeah, but he's a boy and I've noticed the way he looks at you." Caroline added.

"What are you talking about? What way does he look at me?" Marissa asked confused.

"That boy is in love with you, Rissa."

"Jeremy? Jeremy is in love with me?" Marissa asked, then began to laugh. "That's crazy, Care, he just sees me as a friend. Besides he's all into Vicki."

"Cause he can't have you." Caroline pointed out.

"You're crazy and have no idea what you're talking about." Marissa said.

"Fine, don't believe me." Caroline said with a laugh, as she held up her hands. "But you'll see one day."

"Just pick out my clothes so I can finish this and we can go." Marissa said, as she laughed and throw a pillow at her sister.

Caroline caught the pillow then threw it back with a laugh of her own before turning to walk into the closet.

She and everyone else knew Marissa and Jeremy would hook up one day, they were just waiting until it happened, but it was going to be a long time unless Marissa could finally see what was right in front of her.

_- (o0o) -  
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"Okay, remember what I told you, no drinking, no making out, no-"

"I know, I know, Care." Marissa said, interrupted Caroline as they walked toward the party that was already in full swing.

She slipped on the fitted blue jean jacket on top of the dark grey flowy tank top Caroline picked out for her. The tank top ended a few inches below a pair of dark blue jeans she was wearing.

"Oh, there's the new guy Stefan Salvatore. Isn't he so hot?" Caroline said when she noticed Stefan standing off to the side.

Marissa laughed at her sister then said,"I told Bonnie you would go after him."

"That's cause you know me too well." Caroline said laughing. "Alright little sis, pay attention, this is how you get the man you want."

Marissa laughed again as she watched Caroline approach Stefan and do all of her little flirty moves. She watched for a few more minutes before growing bored and walking toward Bonnie and Elena; who were talking and laughing with each other.

"Hey." Marissa called out, as she stood beside the two girls.

"Hey! Caroline finally let you come to the party I see." Bonnie said smiling.

"Yep." Marissa said smiling.

"Good, maybe you can help me keep an eye on Jeremy." Elena said to the younger girl.

"Where is he anyway?" Marissa asked, as she glanced around at all the people but not seeing him.

"He's around somewhere." Elena answered.

"Well I'll find him later." Marissa said, then asked,"So what are we talking about? What's the latest gossip?"

"We were talking about how Elena is crushing on the new guy." Bonnie answered.

"I do not have a crush on him." Elena added.

"Yeah, you do." Bonnie said laughing, then asked,"So where is he?"

"I don't know. You tell me, you're the psychic one." Elena joked.

"You're psychic?" Marissa asked Bonnie with a surprised look on her face. Before the dark headed girl could answer, she looked at Elena and added,"Oh and Stefan is over there, Caroline has her hooks into him."

"Why am I not surprised." Elena joked.

"Hey, you were right." Bonnie said to Marissa as she remembered their conversation earlier that day at school. "Maybe you're the psychic one." She added, as a joke.

"Maybe." Marissa said laughing. Then added seriously, "No I just know how my sister is."

"We all know how Caroline is." Elena said with a laugh, causing the two other girls to laugh out loud too.

"So since you are psychic, tell me about my future." Marissa said to Bonnie. She had always been interested in psychics, she always watched any tv show or movie about them and she thought it was pretty cool that one of her friends were one.

"Even I know what your future is and I'm not even psychic." Elena said to Marissa.

"What? What's my future then '_Oh Great Elena_'." Marissa joked.

"You're going to marry Jeremy, have a house full of kids then you two will grow old together." Elena answered. She, like Caroline, couldn't wait until the day her little brother and Marissa got together. She knew they would be perfect for each other.

"Oh, man, what is with all of you?" Marissa groaned.

"Sorry, Rissa, but I agree." Bonnie said. "We're all just waiting for the day."

"Yep, we have all placed our bets." Elena joked.

"You all do realize me and Jeremy are just friends, right?" Marissa asked.

"So, lots of relationships start as friends then go to more." Bonnie pointed out.

"Yeah, but, Jeremy sees me as the girl who use to climb trees and make mud pies with him." Marissa said. "He sees me as a friend, someone who has always been there for him, the person who will always be there for him; not a girlfriend."

"If that's what you think." Elena said with a secret smile. She knew Jeremy saw her as more, he never said the words, but Elena knew what her brother really thought of the beautiful blonde standing in front of her.

"It's what I know, so can we change the subject now?" Marissa asked, then added,"Bonnie tell Elena her future."

"Okay, so give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate. " Bonnie said.

"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Elena joked, as she leaned down to pick up an empty beer bottle.

As Elena handed the bottle to Bonnie, their hands touched, causing Bonnie to gasp in surprise and drop the bottle to the ground.

"What's wrong, Bonnie?" Marissa asked concern.

Bonnie ignored the younger girl's question as she looked at Elena and said,"That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow."

"What?" Elena asked.

"A crow. There was fog, a man." Bonnie said, then she shook her head and added,"I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Okay, I'm gonna get a refill."

Before Marissa or Elena could say anything, Bonnie ran off leaving the two alone. Elena turned to go check on Bonnie, but instead ran into Stefan.

"Hi." Stefan said, as he looked at Elena.

"Hi." Elena said back.

"I'm gonna go find Jeremy. See ya." Marissa said, as she realized they wanted to be alone.

Marissa walked away from the smiling couple and made her way through groups of people until she made it to the edge of the woods where Jeremy was standing alone drinking from a plastic cup.

"Hey." Marissa said to him, as she stood beside him.

"Hey." Jeremy mumbled back.

"Are you still mad at me?" Marissa asked him quietly, she was hoping he forgave her for what she said about Vicki at school.

"What? No, I'm not mad at you." Jeremy said, as he looked at her. He threw an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close to him as he added,"I could never be mad at you."

"Good." Marissa said smiling, as she threw an arm around his back and hugged him back. "So what's wrong then? You look upset."

Jeremy sighed then said,"I just caught Tyler trying to force himself on Vicki in the woods."

"What? That's crazy." Marissa said shocked.

"Yeah, Tyler is a real gentleman." Jeremy said sarcastically. He turned to look at her, as he asked,"Now tell me, why do you like that jerk again?"

"Jer, don't start." Marissa said with a sigh, then asked,"So what happened after?"

"I was just trying to help Vicki out, but she got pissed and we fought." Jeremy answered.

"Ugh, that girl is nothing but trouble. I really wished you would stay away from her." Marissa said.

"She's not that bad." Jeremy tried to argue.

"Yes she is, she's going nowhere and she's taking you with her." Marissa argued back.

Jeremy didn't say anything as he took a sip from his cup, the last thing he wanted to do was argue with Marissa again.

"What are you drinking?" Marissa asked, as she took the cup from his hands.

"Beer." Jeremy answered, then said,"You can have some if you want."

"Thanks, just don't tell Caroline." Marissa said, as she took a big swallow of beer from the cup. She wasn't a big drinker, but occasionally she liked to have a drink and what better time to drink then at a party.

"Don't worry, Ris, your secret is safe with me." Jeremy said smiling, as he looked at her.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" Marissa asked, as Jeremy continued to look at her.

"No reason." Jeremy said. "Just you look great tonight and earlier today at school too."

"Thanks, Jer." Marissa said smiling. She playfully punched his shoulder, as she added,"Now quit staring at me, you're being creepy."

Jeremy laughed as he grabbed the cup out of her hand and took a sip before glancing around at the party. He rolled his eyes when he saw Tyler standing around with his buddies joking around, then he become concern when he didn't see Vicki anywhere.

"What is it?" Marissa asked, when she saw the look on his face.

"I don't see Vicki." Jeremy answered.

"So? Maybe she went home." Marissa suggested.

"Or maybe she's still in the woods." Jeremy pointed out, then said,"I'm going to go look for her."

"Jeremy don't, it's dark out there and you could get hurt." Marissa said, hoping to change his mind.

"Just stay here and I'll be right back." Jeremy said to her.

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you go out there alone. I'm coming with you." Marissa said, as she began to follow him.

Jeremy wanted to argue with her, but knew there was no point in it. Once Marissa set her mind on something, there was no talking her out of it.

"Alright fine, but just hold my hand so I don't lose you." Jeremy said to her, as he reached out and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers

As he and Marissa walked into the woods, Jeremy fought the urge to roll his eyes, when he heard Elena following them and calling out their names.

"Jeremy, where the hell are you and Rissa going?"

"I don't want to hear it right now." Jeremy called out, as he and Marissa walked further into the woods.

"Yeah, well, too bad." Elena said back, as she followed along behind them.

Marissa turned her head to tell Elena they were looking for Vicki, when she tripped on something, pulling her away from Jeremy. He tried to grab her, but was too late as she fell hard on the ground, hitting her forehead on a hard rock but thankfully it didn't cause her to black out.

"Rissa, are you okay?" Jeremy said, as he and Elena ran to her.

"Yeah, I just tripped on something." Marissa said, as she sat up and looked up at Jeremy and Elena.

"Here, grab my hand. We'll help you up." Jeremy said, as he and Elena helped her up off the ground.

Once Marissa was standing up on her feet, she glanced down at the ground to see what she tripped on, she gasped in surprise when she realized it was a body.

Jeremy, seeing her reaction, looked down and called out,"Vicki? Oh, my god, it's Vicki."

"Oh, my god." Elena said, as she placed a hand over her mouth in shock.

"She's bleeding." Marissa said, as she saw blood on Vicki's neck.

"You're bleeding too." Jeremy said, as he looked at her forehead. "Are you okay?" He asked with a concern look.

Marissa nodded her head, as Elena said,"Jeremy, grab Vicki. We need to get her help."

As much as Jeremy wanted to tend to Marissa first, he could tell that Vicki needed help more. He leaned down and picked up Vicki to carry her out of the woods with Marissa and Elena following along behind him.

Once they made it back to the party, Jeremy laid Vicki down on a table as Elena called out,"Somebody help."

"Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?" Matt called out, as he raced to his sister's side.

"What happened to you two?" Tyler asked, as he glanced at Marissa then looked down at Vicki.

"Somebody, call an ambulance." Matt said, hoping someone standing around would quickly call for help.

"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood." Elena explained.

"Here put this on it." Marissa said, as she removed her jean jacket and handed it to Matt.

"Thanks." Matt mumbled. He grabbed the jacket and placed it against Vicki's neck as he said,"Vicki, Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me."

While Matt was trying to wake up Vicki, Tyler looked over at Marissa and asked,"So what happened to you?"

"I tripped on Vicki and hit my head." Marissa explained.

"That looks like a nasty cut. Does it hurt?" Tyler asked, as he brushed a finger against her forehead near the cut.

Marissa hissed in pain then said,"Yeah a little."

"What the hell are you doing?" Jeremy asked Tyler, as he walked up to him and Marissa.

"I'm just checking on her, Gilbert." Tyler answered.

"It's a cut, it hurts, so stop touching her." Jeremy warned, as he grabbed Marissa's hand and pulled her toward him.

"It's okay, Jer." Marissa said quietly.

Jeremy glanced over at the ambulance that just pulled up then looked at Marissa and said,"Come on, let's get you checked out."

Jeremy had only taken a few steps when Tyler grabbed his arm and said quietly to him,"The last time I checked, Rissa isn't yours, she's free for anyone to take."

"Stay the hell away from Rissa." Jeremy hissed back, before he began to walk again, pulling Marissa along behind him.

A few minutes later, Marissa was sitting on top of a table with Jeremy sitting beside her as a paramedic checked, cleaned and bandage up the cut. Thankfully the cut wouldn't need stitches, she would just have to keep it bandage until it healed. Once the paramedic was done, he walked off, leaving Marissa and Jeremy alone.

Jeremy threw an arm around her shoulder then sighed as he said,"I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too." Marissa mumbled, as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. After all the excitement she was suddenly feeling tired.

Jeremy listened to her steady breathing as she slowly began to fall asleep, he kissed the top of her head and moved the arm that was on her shoulder down to her back to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her body closer to his.

Before she could fall fully asleep though, Caroline ran up and cried,"Oh, my God, Rissa, what happened?"

Marissa opened her eyes and raised her head to look at her sister, before saying,"It's okay, Care, I'm fine."

Caroline leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Marissa, as she asked,"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Marissa answered, then added,"How's Vicki?" Even though Vicki wasn't her favorite person, she still wouldn't wish anything bad on her.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but they are taking her to the hospital and she should be okay." Caroline answered.

Marissa and Jeremy both released the breath they were holding, they were thankful she would be okay. They knew things could have turned out worse.

"We better get out of here before mom shows up." Caroline said. "If she catches me drunk, she'll be pissed."

"I can walk her home." Jeremy suggested, he wasn't ready to let Marissa out of his sight.

"Thanks, Jeremy, but Elena is looking for you and she's pretty freaked out." Caroline said. "You should probably go with her."

"Alright." Jeremy said with a sigh. As much as he didn't want to leave Marissa, he knew he better go with Elena, he wasn't in the mood for another fight with her.

Jeremy stood up from the table then turned to look at Marissa before saying,"I'll call and check on you later, okay?"

"Okay." Marissa said.

After telling each other '_bye_', Jeremy walked off to find his sister, leaving the Forbes sisters alone.

"It's so cute how over protective he is of you." Caroline said with a giggle.

"Don't start, Care." Marissa said, as she slowly stood up from the table.

"Sorry." Caroline said, as she threw an arm around her sister's shoulder. "Hey, let's go to the grill for a bit. I need coffee and lots of it."

"But I'm tired." Marissa whined.

"I know, but I'm drunk and need to sober up quick." Caroline pointed out. "I'll let you drive us there." She added, hoping to tempt her.

"Sweet, I'm in then." Marissa said smiling.

Minutes later, Marissa and Caroline sat across from each other in a booth at the grill. A glass of soda in front of Marissa and a cup of coffee in front of Caroline.

"Are you sober yet?" Marissa asked Caroline; who had her elbows on the table and her head resting in her hands.

"No." Caroline mumbled.

"Well keep drinking cause we have to get home." Marissa said, as she pushed the cup of coffee toward her. "Why did you get so drunk anyway?" She questioned.

"Stefan." Caroline answered sadly, as she dropped her arms on to the table and raised her head to look at Marissa.

"What happened, Care? When I left it looked like you two were getting alone?" Marissa asked.

Caroline shook her head then said,"He didn't go for me. Why didn't he go for me?"

Before Marissa could answer, Caroline added,"I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And Elena always says the right thing. She doesn't even try, and he just picks her. And she's always the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and I'm never the one."

Marissa leaned forward and laid her hand on top of Caroline's hand, before saying,"That's not true, Care. You're beautiful, smart, funny and lots of guys are just hoping for a chance with you. Any guy would feel like the luckiest man in the world to be with you."

Caroline sniffed and wiped away a tear from her cheek then said,"You have to say that, you're my sister."

"That's right, I am your sister and don't forget, us Forbes sisters are the hottest chicks around." Marissa stated. "We break hearts, we don't get our hearts broken, remember?"

Caroline couldn't help but laugh as Marissa repeated to her what she had always told her. Caroline had always told her, they were Forbes, they were strong and no man could hurt them unless they allowed it to happen.

"Thanks, Rissa." Caroline said with a grateful smile.

"No problem, sis. Now let's get home before mom does or she'll freak out." Marissa said.

"She's already going to freak anyways when she sees the bandage on your forehead." Caroline said, "Then she'll totally blame me for it."

"No she won't. I'll tell her the truth, it was my fault.' Marissa said.

"Yeah, but I should have been watching you instead of wasting my time with Stefan." Caroline pointed out.

"Don't do that, don't blame yourself." Marissa said. She stood up from the booth and sat down beside Caroline. "It was a party, we had no way of knowing anything like that would happen."

Caroline turned in her seat and wrapped her arms around Marissa, as she said,"I'm just glad you're okay."

"Me too and don't worry you'll be okay too." Marissa said, as she hugged her sister tight.

"I think you might be right." Caroline said, as she saw a cute guy with the bluest eyes she had every seen sitting across from them at a table. He smiled at her and she smiled back at him over Marissa's shoulder.

Marissa ended the hug, then glanced at the guy Caroline was looking at. She couldn't help but laugh, she should have known it wouldn't take Caroline long to move on.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

Close to an hour later, Marissa walked into her bedroom ready for bed. Luckily when she and a sober Caroline returned home, their mother still wasn't home yet. Which was good since Marissa wasn't in the mood to hear her yell about them breaking curfew.

Marissa pulled back the comforter but before she could lay down, she heard her cell phone; which was on the table beside the bed, begin to ring. She picked up the phone and smiled when she saw it was Jeremy calling.

"Hey." Marissa said, as she answered the call.

_"Hey, did you finally make it home okay?"_ Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, we got home a little bit ago and now I'm about to go to sleep. I am beyond exhausted." Marissa said, as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

_"Is your head feeling okay?" _Jeremy asked concern.

"It's okay, I just have a bit of a headache." Marissa answered. "Have you heard any news about Vicki?"

_"Matt called earlier and said she's resting and the doctors say she will be okay. I plan to go check on her in the morning before school." _Jeremy answered.

"That's good." Marissa said, even though she didn't like Jeremy being around Vicki, she could understand why he would want to check on her.

_"Are you sure you'll be okay tonight? I can sneak out and bring some mint chocolate chip ice cream."_ Jeremy suggested.

Marissa smiled, any time she had been sick or upset, Jeremy had always brought her favorite ice cream; mint chocolate chip. They would sit in her bed and eat the whole pint of ice cream together before laying down and falling asleep. She could always count on Jeremy to make her feel better, no matter what.

"As good as that sounds, I really just want to sleep, but we'll do it tomorrow." Marissa said.

_"Alright, it's a plan." _Jeremy said. _"I'll let you get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Okay, night, Jer."

_"Night, Ris."_

Marissa continued to smile as she ended the call, she sat the phone back down on the table then stood up from the bed. She glanced over at the bedroom window when she heard a noise outside.

She walked closer to the window and looked outside, then gasped in surprise when she saw a black crow sitting on a tree branch near her window.

Marissa stared at it for a few seconds, hoping it would fly away, but when it didn't she quickly shut the black curtains before making her way back over to her bed.

She laid down and shut her eyes as she waited to fall asleep which wouldn't come, she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

_a/n - hey all, so that is the end of episode one. I hope you all enjoyed it, I'm not quite sure what all is going to happen, I guess I'll find out when I get to an episode lol. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, ArtemisLuna85 and DamnWhoopsIMeantDamon for reviewing the first chapter. I'm really glad people are liking the story already =) _


	3. The Night of the Comet

**The Night of the Comet**

Marissa covered her mouth and yawned as she walked across the school parking lot early the next morning. She was there earlier then usually since Caroline had some meeting about the festival to celebrate the comet that was going to pass by that night.

A lot of students had volunteered to hand out pamphlets during the festival and Caroline was one of them.

Marissa was almost inside the school building, when she heard someone call out her name behind her, she turned around and smiled when she saw it was Jeremy.

"Hey, what are you doing here so early?" Marissa asked, as she walked over to him.

"I could ask you the same thing." Jeremy said with a laugh.

"Caroline... meeting... you know how it is." Marissa answered, causing Jeremy to laugh again. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

Caroline was always volunteering for something, which drove Marissa crazy since Caroline would always beg her to join in. She would refuse, then would be dragged to school early for some stupid meeting.

"So what's your excuse for being here?" Marissa asked again.

"I wanted to go check on Vicki then check on you, but when I went by your house, your mom said you were already at school." Jeremy explained.

"How is Vicki?" Marissa asked.

"I didn't get to visit long cause it wasn't visiting hours yet, but the nurse said she'll be okay. I plan to visit her again this afternoon if you want to join?" Jeremy suggested.

"I don't know, we'll see." Marissa answered. Even though she was glad Vicki was okay, that didn't mean she wanted to talk to her. Plus she hated hospitals.

"I know Vicki and hospitals are not two of your favorite things, but maybe this could be a chance for you two to make a fresh start." Jeremy pointed out.

"I don't think there is a chance we would ever make a fresh start. We just don't like each other. It's like with you and Tyler." Marissa explained. "Would you want me to suggest to you to start fresh with him."

"Okay, point taken." Jeremy said, then he narrowed his eyes when he saw Tyler standing off to the side talking to his friends. "Speak of the devil." He mumbled.

Marissa turned her head to look at what Jeremy was staring at, then turned to look at Jeremy, as she said,"Come on, Jeremy, don't start anything."

"I'm not, I just want to have a chat with him." Jeremy said, then added,"Can you believe he hasn't went once to visit Vicki."

"Well that's their business, stay out of it." Marissa pleaded.

"Look I'm not going to hurt your little boyfriend." Jeremy said sarcastically. "I'll just talk to him."

Marissa rolled her eyes at his comment, then said,"Jer, don't."

"Just go inside, I'll be there soon." Jeremy said, as he walked away from her and began to walk toward Tyler and his friends.

Marissa sighed in frustration then turned around and walked inside the building, she knew it was no use trying to talk sense into Jeremy. He was too stubborn to listen.

Once Marissa made her way inside, she walked down a couple of hallways, then made her way over to her sister and Bonnie; who was finished with their '_comet meeting_' and standing near a row of lockers talking.

"I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?" She heard Caroline asked, as she walked up to them and stood beside them.

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches? I don't think so." Bonnie explained.

"I think it would be really cool if you're a witch." Marissa said to Bonnie.

"Thank you." Bonnie said smiling.

"Well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night." Caroline said, talking about the hot guy she and Marissa saw at the grill.

"I wasn't there, I didn't see him, you did. Why didn't you just talk to him?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. I was drunk." Caroline answered.

"When did that ever stop you." Marissa said with a laugh.

"Hush you." Caroline said to her sister with a laugh. "Hey, shouldn't you be getting ready for class." She added, as she flashed her a playful look.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." Marissa mumbled, causing the two girls to laugh at her, as she began to walk to her locker to grab the books she will need for the first few classes before lunch.

As Marissa placed her books into her bag, she glanced at Jeremy's locker beside hers and sighed as she realized he hasn't come inside the building yet.

She grabbed her cell phone out of the bag then dropped the bag on the floor as she sent him a quick text, asking where he was, after she hit the send button she felt someone standing beside her. She glanced at the person, hoping it was Jeremy but instead it was Tyler.

"Morning." Tyler said, then asked,"How's your head?"

"Better." Marissa answered.

"Good." Tyler said smiling.

"How's Vicki? Better?" Marissa asked, even though she knew he have not went and saw her, she was curious what his answer would be. Would he tell the truth or try to lie about it?

Tyler nodded his head then said,"I spoke to Matt this morning and he said she's getting better."

"Have you went to see her?" Marissa asked, again she was curious what his answer would be.

"Jeez, are you and Gilbert tag teaming or something?" Tyler asked angrily. "Your little buddy just chewed me out for the same thing."

"That's not what I was doing, I was just wondering. Sorry." Marissa mumbled.

"No, Rissa, its ok, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Tyler said sincerely.

"It's okay." Marissa said. "Speaking of Jeremy, do you know where he went after talking to you?"

"I guess he left, I saw him walking toward the parking lot." Tyler answered with a shrug.

Marissa scoffed and rolled her eyes, as she said,"I can't believe he is skipping already."

"Yeah well he's a loser, that's what losers do." Tyler joked.

Marissa slammed her locker door shut then turned to look at Tyler angrily, as she snapped,"Look I know you two don't get along and I might not always agree with what he does, but at the end of the day he's my best friend and I never want to hear you say something that like about him again, okay?"

Marissa couldn't believe she had just yelled at Tyler like that, but when it came to Jeremy she was very protective of him.

Tyler raised his hands in surrender, then said,"Whoa calm down, Baby Forbes, I was just kidding."

"Well don't say anything like that again even joking." Marissa said. She released a breath, then added,"Sorry for snapping by the way."

"Hey its cool, I dig the feistiness. Plus you're cute when you're all mad." Tyler said smiling.

Marissa blushed and chuckled at his comment, then to change the subject, she asked,"So are you going to see the comet?"

"Probably, nothing better to do. What about you?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know, maybe." Marissa answered with a shrug.

"Well maybe I'll see you there then." Tyler said with his trademark grin.

"Maybe you will." Marissa agreed, as the bell rang signaling the start of their first class.

"See ya, Rissa." Tyler said, as he began to walk toward his class.

"Bye," Marissa said back, as she walked in the opposite direction to her class room.

Marissa sat down at her desk and couldn't help but smile as she thought back to her conversation with Tyler. She couldn't believe he was finally starting to notice her. She knew it didn't mean he liked her, but she hoped it meant something. She hoped maybe in time he would ask her out.

While thinking about Tyler, her cell phone beeped, letting her know she had a new text message. When the teacher turned around to write on the blackboard, she pulled her phone out of her bag and felt her good mood crash when she saw she had a text from Jeremy.

_'Headed back to the hospital, can't deal with school today. Talk to you later.'_

Marissa rolled her eyes, as she slipped her phone back in her bag. She really wished Jeremy would forget about Vicki. The girl was going to end up ruining Jeremy's life, which would be a shame cause he has such a bright future ahead of him.

_'Maybe I could try to hook him up with a good girl.'_ Marissa thought to herself, then quickly pushed that thought aside. Just the thought of Jeremy being with a girl made her feel like crap, although she didn't know why, it's not like she was jealous or anything. It must be another reason, she just didn't know what that reason was.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After a lot of boring classes, Marissa dropped off the books she wouldn't need in her locker, then made her way over to Jeremy's house. She decided to walk since it was a nice day outside. It was a warm day without being too hot and she could tell fall weather was not far behind.

She was almost to his house, when she felt like someone or something was behind her. She quickly turned around and was surprised to see a black crow again, sitting on the sidewalk behind her.

"Shoo." Marissa said, as she took a step toward it and moved her hands, telling it to fly away. Instead the crow hopped and got closer to her.

"I said shoo, fly away now." Marissa said, as she moved her hands around again, causing it to finally fly away. She quickly ducked as it flew toward her head before flying up higher and out of sight.

"Stupid creepy bird." Marissa mumbled, as she continued to walk toward the house.

Marissa walked up the porch and rang the door bell, taking a step back as she waited for someone to answer. She knew Elena was probably off with her friends, but she hoped Jeremy would be home already.

A few seconds later, the door opened and Jenna stood in front of her and said,"Hey Rissa, come on in."

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she stepped into the house. She couldn't help but smile as she glanced around the homey living room. She had many good memories in this room as well as the whole house.

"What are you doing here?" Jenna asked, nicely.

"Looking for Jeremy, is he here?" Marissa asked

"No, he called and said he was staying after school, something about getting a car finished in auto shop." Jenna answered. When she saw the look on Marissa's face, she sighed, then added,"There isn't an auto shop class at school is there?"

"No, sorry." Marissa answered.

"Ugh, why does that boy feel the need to lie all the time." Jenna groaned, as she made her way into the kitchen.

"I don't know." Marissa said with a sigh, as she followed along behind Jenna.

"I mean, I know he's going through a hard time, but I'm not here to ruin his life." Jenna said. "I just want to help him."

"I know, that's what we all want, but at the time he's not listening. I guess the best thing to do is just be there for him and hope he snaps out of it soon." Marissa said.

"Or I could try to talk to him, relate to him and bribe him with food." Jenna said, as she pointed to the bag of take-out on the counter. "He does like tacos, right?"

"Right. Although he likes it better when it's broken up into a taco salad." Marissa answered. She let out a laugh, before adding."He says it saves him time chewing since it is already broken up."

Jenna laughed with her then said,"That is one weird kid."

"Yes he is." Marissa agreed. She smiled, then added,"But I wouldn't want him any other way."

Jenna looked at the young girl in front of her and could see the love she has for her nephew in her eyes. She couldn't wait for the day the two teens woke up and realized their feelings for each other. She knew they had the type of love that would last forever, the type no one could come between.

"I'm glad he has you, Rissa. You're good for him." Jenna said sincerely.

"I'm lucky to have him." Marissa said. "Sometimes I feel like he is all I have in this world, the only one I can count on. I mean my dad is gone, Mom is always working, and yeah I have Caroline, but she has her own life; her own friends and her own drama. So Jeremy is all I have."

Jenna smiled as she thought back to a memory her sister; Jeremy and Elena's mother, Miranda, had told her long ago. She looked over at Marissa, as she said,"I remember Miranda telling me about the first time you and Jeremy met."

"Really? What happened?" Marissa asked. Even though she knew her and Jeremy met when they were babies, she was foggy on the details.

"You two were just a few months old, when one day your mom brought Caroline over here to play with Elena and of course she brought you with her. You had begun to get fussy, so Miranda suggested to Liz to lay you down in the crib with Jeremy." She leaned across the counter, before continuing,"As soon as your mom laid you down beside him; he reached out and grabbed your hand and you rolled toward him and fell fast asleep."

She smiled at the younger girl, as she added,"It was so clear from the very beginning that you two had a special bond. You two have always trusted each other and leaned on each other for everything."

Marissa smiled at the memory, then said sadly,"I miss her ya know... Miranda, she was like a second mother to me."

"I know, I miss her too." Jenna said with a sad smile.

"I remember coming here after school and she would always have a plate of fresh-baked cookies on the table with big glasses of cold milk waiting for us. Then me, Jeremy, Elena and sometimes Caroline, would sit around the table and Miranda would ask us how our day went." A faint smile appeared on her face, as she remembered those days. "And you could tell, she wasn't just asking to be nice, she really wanted to know. She wanted to know everything; the things we saw, heard, or learned. She wanted to know everything that went on in our lives cause she honestly cared."

Marissa took a deep breath, then with tears in her eyes, softly added,"God, I just really miss her so much."

Jenna walked over to the young girl and threw her arms around her to hug her. She knew exactly what Marissa was going through; she too really missed her big sister and she knew there would never be another woman like Miranda. She was truly one of a kind.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jeremy asked, as he walked inside the house and saw the two girls hugging.

"Nothing, just a little girl talk." Jenna answered, as she released Marissa from the hug.

Marissa wiped the tears from her eyes, then turned around with a smile, as she said,"Hey, Jer."

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, as he took a step closer to her and saw her watery eyes. She looked like she had been crying or was about to.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Marissa said smiling, hoping to reassure him.

Before Jeremy could say anything else to her, Jenna spoke up and said,"I picked up dinner, tacos. I had an urge for guacamole."

"No, I'm good, thanks." Jeremy said to Jenna, as he continued to look at Marissa to make sure she was okay.

"Eat anyway. It's a ruse. I want to talk." Jenna said. When Jeremy turned to walked out the room, she called out,"Hey, you, come, sit."

After Jeremy sat down, Jenna continued to talk,"Back in school, freshman year, I could eat my weight in nachos, with extra cheese. It was my munchie food whenever I got stoned."

"You get high?" Jeremy asked her, as both he and Marissa looked over at Jenna in surprise.

"Did, past tense. But, yeah, loved it. Anything to get a little distraction from life, reality. And it worked. For a while. Never lasts, though." Jenna explained. She turned around to grab plates, as she continued,"Hey, I'm not saying I wouldn't love to rail back and kick it, but with a thesis looming and a waistline expanding-"

"Jeremy, wait." Marissa called out, interrupting Jenna as Jeremy turned and walked out of the room. Seconds later they heard the front door slam as he left the house.

Jenna turned around and sighed in frustration when she noticed he was gone, she had really hope she could get through to him.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him." Marissa said, as she quickly walked through the house then made her way outside. She stood on the porch and glanced around until she saw Jeremy walking down the sidewalk.

"Hey. Jer, wait up." Marissa called out, as she ran down the porch stairs then ran down the sidewalk to catch up with him.

Jeremy stopped walking then turned around to face her, as she got closer to him. Once she was in front of him, he spoke,"Please don't start in on me too."

"Jeremy, we're not trying to piss you off. We all just care about you and want you to be okay." Marissa said.

"I am okay." Jeremy shouted.

"No you're not." Marissa yelled back. "You're hurting and that's okay. I know you miss your parents, I miss them too, but I feel like you're slipping away from me and I can't lose you, Jer. I know that's selfish to say, but I can't lose you, you're all I have."

Jeremy took a step toward her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as tears began to fill her eyes. He rested his chin on top of her head and took a deep breath, getting a whiff of her shampoo. He loved how she always smelled like strawberries.

Jeremy ran a hand up and down her back to comfort her, as he said,"You're not going to lose me, okay? I promise you, I'm not going anywhere, I'll always be in your life no matter what."

Marissa raised her head from his chest and looked at him with a teary smile, as she said,"I've got your back and you've got mine, always."

"Always." Jeremy repeated, as he wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled. He remembered all the times growing up they would say that to each other whenever something happened. They had always promised to be there for each other no matter what.

"I know what we need right now." Jeremy said, then added when she looked at him with a confused expression. "A pint of ice cream."

Marissa chuckled, then said,"I think that's a good idea. Let's go grab our favorite then sit in bed until it is all gone."

Jeremy smiled, then said,"Actually, there's something I never told you."

"What?" Marissa asked, confused.

"Mint chocolate chip isn't my favorite ice cream." Jeremy confessed.

"What do you mean? It's what we always get though." Marissa said.

"I know, but chocolate is my favorite. I just always get mint chocolate chip cause I know it's your favorite." Jeremy explained.

Marissa looked up at him with a shocked expression on her face, she couldn't believe that all these years he did without his favorite so she could have hers.

It made her wonder if what people had been saying is true, that Jeremy was in love with her. She still wasn't sure she believed that or not though. He had never had a problem telling her what he felt before.

Like when they were still in diapers and he grabbed her then kissed her on the cheek because he just felt like it or three years ago when he came to her and said he had decided he was ready to kiss a girl for real and he wanted her to be the girl. He knew he could go kiss someone else, but he said he wanted it to be something special between them that they would always remember. So she knew deep down if he was in love with her, he would tell her.

"What you thinking?" Jeremy asked, when he noticed the serious expression on her face.

"Nothing." Marissa answered, as she shook her head to get rid of all the thoughts. There was no way she could bring up what she was thinking. If she came right out and asked him if he was in love, it would put him on the spot, he would say no then she would feel embarrassed.

"So are you ready to go get ice cream?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, but how about we get chocolate this time." Marissa suggested.

"Really?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, you've been eating my favorite for years, now it's time for me to do the same." Marissa answered.

Jeremy looked at her and smiled, as he said,"You know you're pretty amazing, right?"

"I try." Marissa joked, then added sincerely,"You're pretty amazing too, Jer."

"I know." Jeremy said laughing. He grabbed her hand, as he added,"Now come on, it's ice cream time."

Marissa intertwined her fingers with his and leaned against his side as they walked down the sidewalk together. She didn't know what she would do without Jeremy in her life and she hoped to never find out.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

Later that night, Marissa was standing alone in the town square while Caroline handed out candles to everyone as they showed up to watch the comet. She glanced around at all the people as she tried to look for someone; anyone she recognized so she'll have someone to talk to.

A few feet away, she saw the guy from the grill she and Caroline saw the night before. He was standing straight ahead of her, still as a statue, and staring in her direction. She glanced around behind her, hoping he was staring at someone else, until she realized he was staring at her.

After a few seconds of him staring, she began to feel creeped out and decided to turn around so she wouldn't have to see him. She waited a few minutes then decided to turn back around in hopes that he was gone. Instead when she turned around, she saw him standing right in front of her, causing her to gasp in surprise. She had never heard anyone walk up to her.

"Hello." He said, flashing her a grin.

"Hi." Marissa said back, feeling uneasy.

"You here alone?" He questioned.

"No, with my sister." Marissa answered, as she silently wished that Caroline or somebody would walk up right now.

"The bubbly, pretty blonde, right?" He asked.

"That's Caroline." Marissa said with a small smile.

"And you are?" He continued, asking for her name.

"Marissa."

"I'm Damon Salvatore." He said, as he held out a hand for her to shake.

Marissa placed her hand in his, but before she could shake it, he brought her hand up to his lips and softly kissed the back of her hand as he said,"It's nice to meet you, Marissa."

"You too." Marissa said back politely as she pulled her hand away from his. As she recognized his last night, she asked in out surprised,"So wait, you're Stefan's brother?"

"Yep." Damon answered.

"That's cool, I didn't know he had a brother." Marissa said.

"We're not close, he hates me." Damon said with a shrug like it was no big deal.

"I'm sorry." Marissa softly said.

"Nah, it's cool, most people do hate me." Damon said. He leaned closer to her, as he whispered,"You'll probably hate me too."

"I hate you being in my personal space." Marissa stated, as she took a step back from him.

"Why?" Damon asked. He took a step toward her again, as he asked,"Do I make you nervous?"

"No, but you creep me out." Marissa said truthfully, as she took another step away from him.

Damon chuckled as he wagged a finger at her, then said,"I like you, you have no problem speaking your mind. It's such a refreshing change."

"And you obviously have no problems hitting on young girls." Marissa said. She shot him a look, as she added,"What are you like thirty or something?"

"Or something." Damon answered with a smirk like he was hiding a secret from her. "You know, I think we should hang out sometime." He added, as he blatantly checked her out.

"No, thanks." Marissa answered.

"We'll see about that." Damon whispered, as he leaned toward her. He pulled back, as he added,"I have to run, but I'll see you later, Marissa."

Before Marissa could say anything back, she heard Caroline called for her from behind her, she turned around to wave at her sister, letting her know where she was. When she turned back around Damon was gone, leaving her confused.

"Hey, I got some candles." Caroline said, as she walked up to Marissa holding two white candles in her hands.

"Thanks." Marissa said, as Caroline handed her one of the lit candles.

"I just met your new crush." Marissa said to Caroline.

"The hot guy from the grill?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, he's name is Damon." Marissa answered. "He's a little creepy."

"Creepy but hot." Caroline joked.

"I'm serious, Care, it might be best if you stay away from this guy." Marissa warned.

"I'm sure he's not that bad, beside you think every guy but Jeremy is creepy." Caroline said.

"No I don't." Marissa said. "But guess what? Damon is Stefan's brother." She added.

"Really?" Caroline asked in surprise. "Well if I can't have one Salvatore, I'll go for the other one."

Marissa looked at her sister, she opened her mouth to warn her again, but before she could say a word, Jeremy walked up to them in a panic.

"Hey, have you two seen Vicki?" Jeremy asked.

"No, why?" Marissa asked.

"I saw her at the grill earlier and she said she was going to meet me here, but I can't find her." Jeremy explained.

"She probably stumbled on to a party and is now passed out somewhere." Caroline said, as she rolled her eyes. Like Marissa, she to wasn't too fond of Vicki.

"She wouldn't do that." Jeremy said to Caroline. He turned his attention to both of them, as he added,"With everything that happened and just getting out of the hospital, I'm worried about her."

"I'll help you find her." Marissa suggested, even though she didn't like the girl, she can't stand to see Jeremy upset.

"Thanks, Rissa." Jeremy said.

Caroline rolled her eyes then said,"Alright, I'll help too. But if she's somewhere partying while we're all searching for her, I'm going to be pissed."

"You are just too kind, Care." Marissa joked with her sister.

"Thanks, I do try." Caroline joked back.

Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle at the two sisters in front of him, no matter what was going on, they could always find the time to make jokes to ease the mood or situation.

"Okay, let's go." Jeremy said, as he reached out to grab Marissa's hand before walking off in search of Vicki with Caroline walking along behind them.

Close to an hour later, Marissa and Caroline were sitting at the grill. After searching for Vicki, Stefan showed up with her. He said he found her wandering around.

After sitting around talking for a bit, everyone went their own way. Some stayed at the grill, some went back to town square and some went home; leaving Marissa and Caroline sitting at a booth alone as they ate a quick dinner together.

"I can't believe we all missed the comet looking for Vicki while she was just wandering around town, probably doped out of her mind." Caroline complained.

"I know." Marissa agreed.

"Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline asked, as she sighed in frustration.

Marissa giggled at her sister's comment, then said,"I do believe you are right."

As Caroline popped the last french fry in her mouth, Marissa glanced at the door and smiled when she saw Jeremy walked in. He looked over at Vicki; who had decided to stay at the grill, then he rolled her eyes when Tyler walked up to her and they began to kiss.

Jeremy turned his head away from the couple and smiled when he saw Marissa looking at him. He made his way over to their booth and sat down beside Marissa; stealing a couple of the french fries off of her plate.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought Elena took you home." Marissa questioned.

"She did, but I snuck out." Jeremy explained.

"Why?" Marissa asked.

"Cause I wanted to spend some time with you, we didn't get to see each other much tonight." Jeremy stated.

Caroline looked at the two younger teens in front of her and smiled. She couldn't help but think about how cute they looked together.

"Why don't you two go walk around town and I'll head home." Caroline suggested to them.

"Really?" Marissa asked. "What about my curfew?"

"Mom won't be home until late as usually. So go, have fun and if had to, I'll cover.." Caroline said.

"Thanks, Care." Marissa said, smiling.

"You're welcome... now go." Caroline said, as she moved her hands to shoo them away.

Jeremy chuckled as he stood up from the booth then waited for Marissa to stand up as well. He looked down at Caroline as he began to walk away and mouthed the words '_thank you_' to her.

Caroline nodded her head at him, then said out loud,"Oh, Jeremy, keep an eye on her."

"I will." Jeremy promised, as they walked through the restaurant then made their way outside.

Like always, Jeremy reached out to grab her hand, as they began to walk toward the square; where a few groups of people were still standing around, watching the last little bit of the comet as it moved across the dark sky.

Jeremy glanced behind them toward the grill then he laughed, as he said,"Looks like your sister's about to hook up."

Marissa turned around to see Caroline and Damon talking in the parking lot. She groaned, as she said,"I can't believe she is talking to that jerk."

"You know him?" Jeremy asked in surprise.

"His name is Damon, he's Stefan's brother." Marissa said. "I met him early tonight and he's pretty creepy."

"What happened? He didn't hurt you or anything did he?" Jeremy asked, feeling himself get angry at the thought of someone hurting her.

"No, nothing like that. He was just hitting on me and he doesn't seem like the type to take '_no_' for an answer." Marissa explained.

"Okay no more roaming alone for you. I'm not letting that creep get a chance to get you alone again." Jeremy said angrily.

"That's crazy, Jer. It's not like I think he would hurt me or anything." Marissa said.

"Well I'm not giving him the chance to. I've got your back, remember?" Jeremy stated.

Marissa smiled at his words, then added,"And I've got your back, always."

Jeremy smiled back at her, then sat down on the ground, pulling her to sit down beside him as they both looked up at the sky together.

After looking up for a few seconds, Jeremy lowered his head and looked over at Marissa. He couldn't get over how beautiful she had become, not that he was surprised. He always knew she would be beautiful, but he felt like she was getting more beautiful everyday and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her in his life.

He only wished he could tell her how he felt. He wished he could tell her that he has been in love with her since they were twelve and he kissed her for the first time. That moment when their lips met, he felt his whole body come alive and his heart began to race and he had felt that way every day since whenever he looked at her, grabbed her hand or hugged her body close to his.

He wanted nothing more than to tell her all of that, but he knew it was best to keep it to himself. He knew while he had fallen for her, she had been falling for Tyler and as much as he hated Tyler, he just wanted her to be happy, even if he wasn't.

All he could hope for was that one day she would wake up and ask for him. It just wasn't going to be today, but until that day came he would wait. He would always wait for her.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

_a/n - hey all, so that is the end of episode two. I know not much is going on, but like in the show, the story will start off slow. But I'm sure at some point it will speed up or at least I hope so lol. But regardless, I still hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it's long but I thought I would post it as all one episode. If you liked it better when I broke it up let me know. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, HelenElisabeth and ArtemisLuna85 for reviewing the last chapter. Happy reading =)_


	4. Friday Night Bites:Part 1

**Friday Night Bites | Part One**

Marissa pulled the light gray pea-coat tighter around her body and folded her arms across her chest as she walked down the sidewalk early one morning on the way to school.

She couldn't believe Caroline picked this morning; the first cool morning since school started, to lay in bed with Damon all morning. Even if it was supposed to warm up during the day, at the moment she was cold and pissed.

She had beat on Caroline's bedroom door repeatedly but Caroline would never answer. Once she realized Caroline wasn't leaving the bedroom she knew to get to school she would have to walk.

Marissa still couldn't believe that her sister would even bring Damon home with her; sure he was nice to look at, but there was just something about him that gave her a bad feeling. He always looked like he was keeping a secret; a secret that would put you in danger if you ever found out.

While Marissa was in deep thought, she didn't hear anyone pull up behind her until she heard a horn blow. She quickly turned around and smiled when she saw it was Tyler.

Marissa walked over to the passenger side window and leaned inside, as she said,"Hey."

"Hey, Baby Forbes. Where you heading?" Tyler questioned.

"School." Marissa answered.

"You're walking to school? Is Caroline sick or something?" Tyler asked surprised. He knew Caroline always drove her to school and would never allow her to walk anywhere alone.

"No, not sick. Just tied up with Damon at the moment." Marissa answered.

"Ah, got ya." Tyler said. He laughed, then added,"So at the moment she's probably literally tied up."

"Ew, I don't even want to think about that." Marissa said, as she wrinkled up her nose in disgust.

Tyler laughed at her comment, then said,"Well hop in, I'll give you a ride."

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she opened the passenger door and sat down in the seat.

Tyler waited a moment until she was seated and ready before he put the car into drive and drove down the road. They rode in silence for a few minutes until Tyler looked over at her and noticed she had her arms fold across her chest.

"Hey, you cold? I could turn the heat on." Tyler suggested.

Marissa looked over at him, then said,"No thanks, I'm fine."

She turned her head back to look straight ahead as she tried not to freak out. She couldn't believe she was actually sitting beside Tyler Lockwood in his car; sure they were just going to school, but she still couldn't believe she was alone with him.

"You sure are quiet early in the morning." Tyler said, as he glanced over at her with a smile.

"Sorry, I guess I'm still half-asleep." Marissa lied. She couldn't tell him the truth; she couldn't tell him she was quiet cause she was trying to control her emotions.

"You going to the game this weekend?" Tyler asked, referring to the first upcoming football game.

"Of course. Caroline always likes for me to record the cheerleaders so she can watch it later and fix all the problems." Marissa answered.

"Record cheerleaders, huh? Any way I can borrow that tape?" Tyler asked.

Marissa scoffed, then said,"That's gross, Tyler."

"Hey, I was kidding." Tyler said laughing. "Besides the only girl I want to see jump around is you." He added with a flirty grin.

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not." Marissa joked.

"Oh, it was definitely a compliment." Tyler said, as he looked over at her and smiled again.

Marissa looked at Tyler then laughed when he gave her a quick wink before turning his head to look back at the road as he turned into the school parking lot.

Once they were parked, Marissa opened the door and stepped out. She grabbed her bag then shut the car door as Tyler walked toward her so they could walk across the parking lot together.

They had only taken a few steps when one of Tyler's friends, Brad, called for him then jogged over to them.

"What's up, Lockwood." Brad said, as he gave Tyler a high-five. He glanced over at Marissa for a moment, as he added,"You moving on from Vicki already?"

"Nah, just give Caroline's little sister a ride." Tyler answered with a shrug, as if it was no big deal.

"Marissa, right?" Brad asked her.

"Right." Marissa said with a polite smile.

"I'm Brad." He said, as he held out a hand. "And may I add that you're hot."

"Um... Thanks." Marissa mumbled, as she quickly shook his hand then pulled her hand away when he tried to hold on to it a little longer.

"I apologize for Brad, he's a jerk." Tyler snapped. He hated to admit it but it bothered him to see Brad checking out Marissa.

"Don't apologize for me, man, girls love to hear that shit, am I right?" Brad joked, as he continued to check out Marissa.

"Okay, I better get inside." Marissa said, ignoring Brad's question. "Thanks for the ride." She said to Tyler, as she turned around and began to walk toward the school building.

"Damn, man, when are you going to tap that?" She heard, Brad say as she took a few steps away from them. She didn't hear what Tyler said in return, but she heard them both laughing as she continued to walk away.

Marissa folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the ground. She couldn't believe how different Tyler acted around his jerk friend. With her; he was nice and a little flirty but when Brad came around he kind of turned into an obnoxious jerk.

_'Maybe Jeremy was right'. _She thought to herself with a sigh.

"Hey." Jeremy said, as he walked up beside her and began to walk with her.

"Hey." Marissa said to him with a small smile.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Marissa said smiling. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Jeremy the way Tyler was acting. It would just give him another reason to call Tyler a dick.

"Good, now answer a question for me." Jeremy said.

"What?" Marissa asked confused.

"What the hell were you doing with that dick?" Jeremy asked angrily.

"Don't start, Jer." Marissa said with a sigh. She wasn't in the mood to fight with Jeremy once again about Tyler.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy said, as he lightly grabbed her arm to keep her from walking. "But seriously, why were you with him? Are you two having before school dates or something?"

"What? No, Jer, it wasn't like that. He saw me walking to school and offered me a ride." Marissa explained.

"Why were you walking?" Jeremy asked confused.

"Cause Caroline is locked in her room with Damon." Marissa said.

"Why didn't you call me? Me and Elena would have come and got you?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, I was just trying to get to school before I was late and mom grounds me. So I decided to just leave the house and walk. I didn't even think of calling anyone." Marissa explained, as she began to walk again.

"Well next time you need a ride, call me, okay?" Jeremy said, as he followed along beside her.

"Alright, I will. Just chill out, Jer, it's not that big of a deal." Marissa said, as she walked inside the school building.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm sure sitting beside him was a dream come true for you, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Jeremy stated.

"I know. So can we just drop it and change the subject now?" Marissa asked, as she walked up to her locker and opened the door.

"Sure." Jeremy said, as he too opened his locker door. "So guess what?" He asked, changing the subject.

"What?"

"My sister is dating Stefan now." Jeremy told her.

"That's great, she needs some happiness in her life." Marissa said. "Although I think it's weird that your sister and my sister are dating brothers."

"That is kinda weird." Jeremy agreed.

Marissa placed all the books she would need in her bag, then shut the locker door at the same time Jeremy closed his. She looked at him and asked,"Want to walk to class together?"

"I would, but I need to head outside for a bit." Jeremy said. When she shot him a look, he added,"Don't look at me like that, I'm not going out there to smoke or take anything."

"Then why are you going?" Marissa asked.

"Vicki asked me to meet her out there." Jeremy answered.

"Ugh." Marissa scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, don't start." Jeremy said. "I'll be inside soon, save me a seat, okay?"

"Okay." Marissa mumbled, as he walked off. She couldn't help but feel hurt anytime he left her to go see Vicki, although she wasn't sure why. It wasn't like Jeremy was her boyfriend or anything, so it couldn't be jealously, could it?

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

When the final bell rang, ending the school day, Marissa dropped her books off at her locker and began to walk toward the back of the school where the cheerleaders and football players held practice after school.

She had tried all day to get in touch with her sister; who never came to school, but never got an answer. She knew Caroline would never miss cheerleading practice though.

Marissa glanced at all of the cheerleaders and sighed when she didn't see her sister. She pulled out her cell phone and tried to call Caroline again as she walked over toward Elena and Bonnie; who were stretching before practice started.

"Hey, have you two heard from Caroline?" Marissa asked, as she ended the call when Caroline's voice mail message started.

"No, I texted her like a hundred times, but no answer." Bonnie answered her.

"I can't believe she's not at practice. She's always the first one here." Marissa asked with a worried expression on her face.

"I'm sure she's okay, Rissa." Elena said to the younger girl, hoping to ease her fears.

"I'm sure you're right, Elena." Marissa said with a small smile. "Okay, enough of worrying, what's the latest gossip, distract me."

"I was just inviting Bonnie over to dinner with me and Stefan, so she can get to know him." Elena said to her.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Marissa said smiling.

"Bonnie doesn't agree cause she's not too fond of Stefan." Elena added.

"Why don't you like Stefan?" Marissa asked Bonnie.

"I never said I didn't like him." Bonnie argued. "I just said I had a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, I accidentally touched him and felt something bad." Bonnie answered.

"It's the whole witchy thing again." Elena added.

"I still think that is so cool, Bon." Marissa said smiling at Bonnie.

"Not when you feel what I feel." Bonnie said sadly.

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard a car pull up and were surprised about who was in the car; Caroline and Damon.

"Oh, my God. That must be the mystery guy from the grill." Bonnie said, as they watched Caroline lean over and kiss Damon before exiting the car.

"If by mystery you mean creepy than yeah." Marissa said, as she folded her arms across her chest and looked over at the car with a disgusted look on her face.

Elena chuckled at Marissa's comment then said,"That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore, as in Stefan?" Bonnie asked in shock.

Marissa and Elena nodded their heads, as Caroline walked in between them and said to Elena,"I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind."

Marissa glanced over at Damon and saw him checking her and Elena out before giving her his trademark smirk and driving away. She scoffed then walked over to Caroline.

"Care, where have you been? And what's up with the scarf?" Marissa asked, as she pointed to the bright color scarf around Caroline's neck.

"Sorry, sis, can't talk right now." Caroline said, as she began to walk away.

"Wait, what's going on?" Marissa asked, as she reached out and lightly grabbed Caroline's arm to keep her from walking away.

"I said not now." Caroline snapped, as she pulled her arm away from Marissa and walked over toward all the cheerleaders.

Marissa sighed as she walked over toward the football field, she could hear Caroline apologizing to the girls about being late then leading them into their first cheer. Snapping at her wasn't something Caroline did a lot, making her worry even more about her big sister.

She rested her arms on the fence that separated the field from the area where the cheerleaders practiced, as she watched the football players practice one of their drills. Right away she noticed Tyler on the field as he ran toward the player who had the ball and tackled him to the ground.

Once the play was over, Tyler stood up from the ground and removed his helmet. He glanced over at the side of the field and saw Marissa watching him.

He gave her a quick smile and nodded his head toward her, as if to say '_hey_'. She smiled back and gave him a little wave as he placed his helmet back on and got back in position to do the play again.

She was so focused on Tyler, she didn't hear anyone walk up beside her until Elena spoke.

"How long?"

"Jeez, Elena, you scared me." Marissa called out, as she turned her head to look at the dark-headed girl. Ignoring her question, she asked,"What are you doing over here and not practicing?"

"Caroline told me to sit this practice out since I'm so behind." Elena answered. "So how long?" She asked again.

"How long what?" Marissa asked confused.

"How long have you been crushing on Tyler Lockwood?" Elena asked her with a knowing smile.

"I-I'm, uh, I'm-I'm not." Marissa stuttered.

"You are a terrible liar, Rissa." Elena said laughing.

Marissa sighed, then said,"Alright fine, I like him and have for years now."

"Does Jeremy know?" Elena asked. She knew it had to be killing her brother to know that the girl he loved; liked someone else.

"Yeah he knows." Marissa answered with a sigh.

"So that's why he hates Tyler." Elena stated. Now everything made sense to her.

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked her, confused.

"Jeremy hates him cause he's jealous." Elena answered.

"Right, cause of the whole Vicki thing." Marissa added. "I still don't understand what Jeremy sees in her."

Elena laughed at the young clueless girl, then questioned,"You think Jeremy is jealous cause of the Vicki thing?"

"Well, yeah, cause Jeremy likes her, but Tyler is dating her." Marissa explained.

"No, Rissa, Jeremy is jealous cause he loves you, but you like Tyler." Elena pointed out.

"Oh, no, don't start that again." Marissa said with a sigh. "I don't know why everyone keeps thinking Jeremy is in love with me. We are just friends, he would tell me if he was."

"Maybe you're right." Elena said. Even though she knew the younger girl wasn't right, but she didn't want to push her.

"Oh, my God, is that Stefan?" Marissa questioned, as she watched Stefan walk out on to the field in pads, ready to practice.

Elena looked over at him and smiled, as she said,"Looks like Tanner let him join the team."

"Wow, Stefan as a football player, I never would have seen that coming." Marissa said with a laugh.

The two girls watched the field as all the players did a few big plays. They cheered out loud for Stefan every time he caught the ball and ran with it down the field, avoiding being tackled.

"He is actually really good." Marissa said to Elena, as they continued to watch Stefan.

"Yeah he is." Elena said with a huge grin on her face, she couldn't be happier for him.

Marissa and Elena watched as the players lined up to do another play. Matt tossed the ball down the field toward Stefan; who jumped in the air to catch it, but before he could, Tyler tackled him hard onto the ground.

Marissa gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, as Elena asked,"Oh, my God, do you think he's okay?"

Before Marissa could answer, Matt ran over to Stefan and helped him to stand up as the coach asked out if he was okay.

Stefan nodded his head and called out,"Yeah."

"He seems to be fine." Marissa said, as all the players, including Stefan lined back up to do another play.

"Good." Elena said, as she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked over at Marissa and said,"Hey, you're welcome to join us for dinner tonight too, by the way."

"Thanks, I was planning on dropping by to hang out with Jeremy anyway, but I would like to get to know Stefan some too. I can see how important he is to you." Marissa said.

"Thank you." Elena said with a grateful smile, as she wrapped her arms around Marissa to hug her. She was happy that at least one of her friends supported her new relationship with Stefan. Now if she could just get her best friend Bonnie on board too things would be perfect.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

Later that night, Marissa was laid on her stomach across Jeremy's bed with him laying beside her as they did their homework together.

They had already done their Science homework and was just finished up reading the last page for English, all they had left was answering a few questions for Math and studying for a History test.

"So what should we do now?" Marissa asked him, as she read the last sentence then closed her English book and tossed it aside.

"I say we take a break." Jeremy said, as he stood up from the bed to stretch.

"Come on, Jer, we're almost done." Marissa said, as she sat up on the bed. "So take your pick, Math or History."

"I choose..." Jeremy began to say, as he walked toward his radio and hit play to start a CD. "Music." He finished.

Marissa laughed as he began to nod his head along to the rock song that was playing. "Alright fine, we'll take a short break but then we study." She pointed out.

"Sounds like a plan." Jeremy said, as he sat back down on the bed beside her.

"So, what did Vicki want with you earlier today?" Marissa questioned. She knew it was really none of her business, but she just had to know.

"She wanted to tell me she had two tickets to see the Posers Saturday night." Jeremy answered.

"Oh, that's cool." Marissa said.

"Yeah, she wanted me and her to go." Jeremy added.

"Well that's great for you, right? I mean you really want to be with her and all." Marissa said. She couldn't help but feel disappointed at the thought of Jeremy and Vicki going out together.

"She said she wants us to be friends and hang out."

"I'm sorry, Jer." Marissa said sincerely.

"It's no big deal." Jeremy said back with a shrug.

"Of course it is, I know how much you like her." Marissa pointed out.

"Seriously, Ris, it doesn't bother me." Jeremy said. Without thinking, he added,"I mean, sure I like Vicki, but she's not who I really want to be with."

"What?" Marissa asked in surprise. "Jeremy Gilbert, I can't believe you have a crush on someone else and never told me. Who is she? Do I know her?"

"I'm not telling you." Jeremy said, as he stood up from the bed and turned off the radio. He couldn't believe he just slipping up and said that. Now he knew Marissa wouldn't stop asking until he told her, but he couldn't tell her that the girl he really wanted was her.

"Aw, come on, Jer. You tell me everything." Marissa said, as she stood up from the bed as well.

"Well I'm not telling you this. I can have some secrets, you know?" Jeremy stated.

"Hm.. If you're not telling me, then that means I do know her." Marissa said, as she placed a finger on her chin and thought out loud,"Is it Bonnie?"

"No, it's not Bonnie." Jeremy said laughing.

"Ew, please don't tell me it's my sister." Marissa said, as she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought of Jeremy liking Caroline.

"No, it's not Caroline."

"Then tell me." Marissa called out.

"No." Jeremy said, still laughing as she began to pout.

"Fine, I'll just have to make you tell me." Marissa said, as she grabbed a pillow from his bed and hit him in the arm with it.

"Oh, it's like that is it." Jeremy joked.

"Yep. Tell me or get hit." Marissa said, as she hit him again with the pillow, this time in the chest.

"Give me that." Jeremy called out, as he tried to grab the pillow from her hand. She laughed out loud as she placed the pillow behind her back, hoping he couldn't reach it.

Jeremy laughed along with her then moved his hands to her sides to tickle her. She laughed even harder then turned around to run away from him, but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her body close to his so she wouldn't run as he continued to tickle her with one hand.

"Okay... Okay... I give up... I won't ask again." Marissa called out in between laughter.

Jeremy stopped tickling her, but kept his other arm around her waist as she turned around to face him. He pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear and smiled at her. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked when she laughed or smiled.

He couldn't help himself as he glanced down at her full lips, wanting to feel them against his again like when he kissed her for the first time a few years ago. That memory would always be in his mind. He would never forget the things he felt when he pressed his lips against hers for the first time that day.

Without even meaning to Jeremy began to slowly lower his head toward hers, but before he get close enough to her lips, they heard a soft knock at the bedroom door.

"Hey, dinner is ready." Elena called out.

Jeremy gave Marissa a quick kiss on the cheek to cover up what he had really wanted to do, before saying, "Come on, let's go eat."

Marissa stood still as she watched Jeremy walked toward the bedroom door. She saw the look in his eyes as he lowered his head to kiss her cheek. She couldn't help but think he was really planning on kissing her, but she knew that couldn't be right.

She was just his friend and he just admitted to liking someone, so why would he want to kiss her, it just didn't make sense, unless...

"Hey, Jeremy?" Marissa called out, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" Jeremy said, as he turned around to face her.

"The girl you like, it's not me, is it?" Marissa asked.

"No, if I did I would tell you." Jeremy said, hoping his lie would convince her.

"Right, of course, I-I just thought I would ask." Marissa mumbled, as she continued to stare at him, as if she was trying to tell if he was being honest or not.

Jeremy couldn't stand the way she was looking at him. It made him want to confess everything he was thinking and feeling at the moment, so he did the one thing he could think of, lie to her again.

"You know what? I just remembered I told Vicki I'll swing by the grill tonight." Jeremy lied.

"What? But we're suppose to be eating with Elena to get to know Stefan." Marissa said, as she tried to hide her hurt expression.

"I know, but the last thing I want to see is my sister and Stefan flirting with each other." Jeremy pointed out.

"Okay, well I guess I'll talk to you later then." Marissa softly said.

"I'm sorry, Ris." Jeremy said sincerely. He hated disappointing her.

"It's okay, we'll hang out later." Marissa said with a shrug like it was no big deal.

As Jeremy walked out the bedroom door she couldn't help but be confused about everything she was feeling. She was hurt that he was going off with Vicki again, but she was also feeling kind of hurt knowing he liked someone else and wouldn't tell her.

For a moment she thought it was her, she thought what everyone had said was true; that he was in love with her and for a moment she actually liked that idea. But now she knew everyone was wrong which left her even more confused as she walked out of the room and down the stairs to join Elena, Bonnie and Stefan for dinner.

Marissa tried to put her confusing feelings aside as she sat down at the dinner table, but she couldn't get Jeremy out of her head. She was barely listening as Bonnie, Elena and Stefan began to talk about football practice and then about Salem witches.

"Hey, Rissa, are you okay?" Bonnie asked, as she looked at the confused girl sitting across from her.

Marissa looked up from her plate and glanced at Bonnie. She opened her mouth to answer but before she could, they all heard the doorbell ring.

"I wonder who that could be." Elena mumbled, as she stood up from the table and made her way toward the front door.

"Surprise." They all heard Caroline called out. "Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert."

"Oh." Elena breathed out. She was surprise to see Caroline and Damon standing in front of her.

"Care?" Marissa questioned, as she walked up behind Elena.

"Hey, Rissa." Caroline said happily, as she walked inside the house and hugged her sister.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, as he walked up and shot Damon a dirty look.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in." Damon said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, you can-" Elena began to say.

"No, no, no. He can't, uh... he can't stay." Stefan stuttered. He glanced at his brother, as he added,"Can you, Damon?"

Marissa looked back and forth between Stefan and Damon. She didn't know what the deal was between the two, but she could tell that Stefan was nervous about Damon coming inside the house and it made her nervous too. She hoped Elena would listen to him and not invite Damon in, but unfortunately she didn't.

"It's fine. Just come on in." Elena said, as she opened the door wider to let Damon in.

Damon smiled as he walked over the threshold, then said,"You have a beautiful home, Elena."

"Thank you." Elena said with a polite smile on her face.

A few minutes later, Marissa, Bonnie, Elena, Stefan, Damon and Caroline were all sitting in the living room making small talk. Marissa tried her best not to glance over at Damon, but she could feel him staring at her and Elena; who was sitting beside her on the couch.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething." Caroline said with a laugh. She looked at Stefan, as she added,"But good for you. Go for it."

"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon said with fake enthusiasm.

"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today." Caroline said. She looked at Elena, as she added,"It's only because you missed summer camp."

Marissa looked over at Elena and saw her shift in her seat and looking uncomfortable. She could tell Elena was having second thoughts on being a cheerleader.

"God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines." Caroline continued to say in deep thought. When a thought hit her, she gasped, as she said,"Wait, maybe Rissa could take your place, she knows all the cheers like the back of her hand."

"But I don't want to be a cheerleader." Marissa said to her sister. It was true, she knew all the cheers, anytime Caroline thought of a new cheer she would run it by her and get her to practice it so she could see what it would look like, but she was never interested in being a cheerleader.

"I'll work with her. She'll get it." Bonnie said forcefully, taking up for her friend.

"Or I guess we can put her in the back." Caroline said, ignoring what everyone said.

"Care." Marissa called out. When her sister looked at her, she continued,"I don't want to be a cheerleader, but if Elena does she'll be okay. Bonnie said she would help her and I'll help to."

"Thank you." Elena whispered to Marissa and Bonnie with a grateful smile.

"I wouldn't mind seeing you jump around in a little skirt." Damon said with a grin as he looked over at Marissa, making her feel uncomfortable.

"You know, I think I'm going to go to the grill and meet up with Jeremy." Marissa said, as she stood up from the couch.

"Now? I can drop you off when we leave here." Caroline suggested.

"No, it's okay. I needed to talk to him real quick anyway before I forget." Marissa lied. "I'll just go grab my books from upstairs and head over there now."

"I don't like you walking around town alone." Caroline said with a worried look on her face.

"It will be okay. Let her go." Damon said to Caroline, as he looked deep into her eyes.

Caroline looked over at Marissa with a smile, then happily said,"Okay, you can go. Have fun, sis."

Marissa glanced over at Caroline and Damon with a confused look on her face. She didn't understand what made Caroline change her mind so fast.

As everyone began to talk again, Marissa made her way upstairs into Jeremy's room. She gathered up all her books and notebooks then placed them into her bag before turning around to head for the bedroom door.

Marissa gasped in surprise when she turned around and saw Damon standing in front of her. He gave her that smirk that was always on his face, the one that said _'I know I'm making you uncomfortable, but I don't care_'.

"Leaving so soon?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, ya know got to go meet Jeremy." Marissa lied, as she took a small step back.

"I see." Damon said, as he looked at her. He could tell she was lying but decided not to call her on it.

"Well be careful out there. There are a lot of creepy people wandering around." Damon said to her in fake concern.

_'Yeah and the main one is standing in front of me'._ Marissa thought to herself as she accidentally rolled her eyes at him. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion when Damon grinned at her, almost as if he knew what she was thinking.

"It was nice seeing you again, Damon, but I got to go." Marissa lied again, as she quickly walked past him and went into the hallway.

"It was really good seeing you, Marissa." Damon said, as she ran down the stairs and out the front door.

Once outside Marissa took a deep breath. She didn't know what it was about Damon, but being around him frightened her and it made her afraid for herself, Caroline and the whole town.

But she didn't know what it was about him that made her feel that way. She didn't feel that way with Stefan; with him she felt safe. For some strange reason with Stefan she felt like he would go above and beyond to save Elena and anyone she cared about, but with Damon she felt the opposite.

With all of that on her mind, Marissa quickly ran to the grill where she found Jeremy and Tyler standing in front of each other, they looked to be in the middle of a heated argument about something and she could only guess it was once again about Vicki.

From where she was standing, she couldn't hear anything that was being said, but she knew she needed to rush over there and stop things before it got out of hand.

"You need to stay the hell away from Rissa. I mean it, Lockwood." Jeremy threatened Tyler.

"Why? What are you going to do, Gilbert?" Tyler asked. "You're going to do nothing. So just take a step back and shut up." He added, as he shoved Jeremy.

"Don't push me or you'll see what I'll do." Jeremy said back.

Tyler laughed, then said,"You're just jealous cause deep down you know you could never please her the way I could. But don't worry I'll tell you how good she was when I'm done."

Jeremy felt his whole body shake in anger at his comment. He placed his hands on Tyler's chest and shoved him hard. Tyler walked back to Jeremy and shoved her back then raised his arm, ready to punch Jeremy until Marissa ran in between them, stopping them from fighting.

"Stop it, you two." Marissa yelled out, as she pushed Jeremy away from Tyler.

"Get out of the way, Rissa." Jeremy said, as he gently pushed her aside.

"No, stop, Jeremy." Marissa said, as she stood in front of him again. She looked at both of the boys, then asked,"What the hell is going on with you two?"

"Nothing, just a friendly little chat, right, Gilbert?" Tyler stated.

"Just wait until the next time I see you." Jeremy threatened him, as he pointed a finger at him.

"I'm looking forward to it." Tyler said, as he held out his arms, inviting Jeremy to fight him.

"Jeremy, just go." Marissa said, as she pushed him toward the door of the restaurant.

"See you later, Rissa." Tyler called out to her when she and Jeremy were almost at the door, causing Jeremy to turn around and make his way back toward Tyler.

Jeremy had only taken a few steps, when Marissa grabbed his arm and pulled him outside with her.

"Just let it go, Jer." She begged him.

"Let me go." Jeremy said angrily, as he pulled his arm from her grasp.

"Jeremy, calm down." Marissa pleaded with him, as she placed her hands on his chest to keep him from running back inside the restaurant.

"I'm going to kill that bastard, I swear I will." Jeremy growled.

"What is wrong with you, Jer? What is going on?" Marissa asked confused. She had never seen Jeremy this angry before.

When he didn't answer, Marissa grabbed his arm and began to pull him away from the building. "Let's just walk it off." She suggested.

"Damn it, Rissa, I don't want to walk it off." Jeremy shouted, as he pulled his arm away and caused her to stumble for a moment, before she caught herself.

Jeremy saw her flinched when he yelled, causing him to feel guilty. He took a step toward her, as he softly said,"I'm sorry, Ris."

"What is going on?" Marissa asked again, shooting him a look that was a cross between confusion and hurt.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Jeremy answered.

"I will worry about it. Whatever it is, it's got you pissed enough to want to kill Tyler and then yell at me." Marissa pointed out. "What were you even two fighting about?" She questioned.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jeremy mumbled, as he turned to walk away.

"Well I do." Marissa yelled, as she tried to grab his arm to stop him.

"Rissa, just leave me alone, please, before I say something I will regret." Jeremy begged her.

"Jeremy, please don't leave." Marissa said with tears in her eyes, as she watched him continue to walk away from her.

She wrapped her arms around herself and took a deep breath as she tried to keep any tears from falling. She couldn't believe what had just happened, Jeremy had never yelled at her like that before. Sure they had argued some through the years, but never like that.

"Rissa? Are you okay?" Tyler asked sincerely, as he walked up behind her. He didn't hear them arguing, but he did see Jeremy walk away and leaving her upset.

Marissa quickly wiped away the few tears that did fall then turned around to face Tyler with a small smile on her face, as she said,"Yeah I'm fine."

"Anything I could do to help?" Tyler offered.

"You could tell me what you and Jeremy were fighting about." Marissa said, as she folded her arms across her chest and shot him a look.

"It was nothing, it was just our daily fight." Tyler said. "You know anytime we get around each other, we fight."

"But that was different, I've never seen Jeremy that pissed before." Marissa pointed out.

"Well maybe he was PMSing or something." Tyler joked.

Marissa sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes as she turned to walk away. She could tell Tyler would be no help in answering her question.

"Hey, where you going?" Tyler asked.

"Home." Marissa called out, as she stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face him.

"Let me take you home." Tyler suggested.

"No, I'll be fine." Marissa said.

"Come on, let's go." Tyler said, as he lightly grabbed her arm and began to pull her toward his car. "If I let you go off alone and something happened, Caroline would kill me." He added.

"Tyler, you don't have to do this." Marissa argued.

"I know, but I want to." He said back, as he opened the passenger door. He looked at her and nodded toward the car, as he said,"Get in."

"But-"

"Stop being stubborn and get in." Tyler said with a laugh, as he interrupted her.

"Alright fine, I'll get in." Marissa said, as she playfully rolled her eyes and laughed back.

"Good and don't worry... I won't bite." Tyler joked. After she sat down, he shot her a wink, as he added,"Unless you ask."

Marissa laughed at his comment as he shut the door then ran around the car to the driver side. She couldn't believe she was riding in a car with him again. So much had happened that day since he gave her a ride to school that morning.

She just hoped everything worked itself out by tomorrow, cause she wasn't sure how much more drama she could stand.

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_a/n - so I know that was not all of the episode, but since the chapter was getting so long I thought I would end it here and do the football game drama in the next chapter. I hope you all don't mind. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to DamnWhoopsIMeantDamon, KyroxIsxSmexy, Sage Londyn and Emmettluver2010 for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the rest, thank you and happy reading =)_

_ps - I wanted to send a special thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy for your help on this chapter, you really helped me out a lot so thank you! _


	5. Friday Night Bites:Part 2

**Friday Night Bites | Part Two**

Finally, Friday rolled around and it was time to head to the school for the first official football game. Marissa wasn't sure if Jeremy was going or not.

Unfortunately they haven't talked since he yelled at her that night at the grill, but surprisingly she had talk to Tyler some which made her happy but she would be happier if she had talked to Jeremy. She had really missed him lately.

"Here take this." Caroline said to her, as she handed her a small video camera. "Make sure you record Elena as much as possible so I'll know what she needs help on."

"Okay." Marissa said. She glanced around the parking lot, seeing Elan talking to Stefan out of uniform. "Although I don't think she'll be cheering tonight." She added.

"Why you say that?" Caroline asked, confused.

Marissa didn't say anything as she pointed at Elena. Caroline turned to look at her, as she said,"What the hell?"

"Come on." Caroline added, as she lightly grabbed Marissa's arm and dragged her over to Elena; who was now standing alone since Stefan walked away.

"And you're not in uniform because... " Caroline asked Elena angrily, as she stood in front of her.

"Um..." Elena began to say.

"Care, shouldn't you go get everything ready for the pep rally?" Marissa asked, interrupting Elena; who she could tell was having a hard time explaining herself to Caroline.

"You're right, Rissa, I should go." Caroline said, as she smiled at her sister. She looked at Elena, as she added,"But we are not finished with this conversation."

After Caroline walked off, Elena looked at Marissa, as she said,"Thank you for that."

"No problem, I know how worked up Caroline can get when someone quits." Marissa said. "She acts like cheerleading is the best thing in the world and has a hard problem understanding when someone doesn't want to do it."

"Yeah, I'm just not into it like I use to be." Elena said.

"And that is understandable after what you went through. But don't worry, I'll talk to Caroline and help her to understand." Marissa said. "But I think it's great that you quit."

"Why do you say that?" Elena asked, confused.

"Cause now you can keep me company while I film all the cheers." Marissa said with a laugh, as she held up the video camera.

"Only if you use it to record of little of Stefan." Elena joked.

"I'll see what I can do." Marissa joked back.

"Speaking of Stefan, look what he gave me." Elena said, as she picked up the charm and showed her the necklace that was around her neck.

"Wow, that is really beautiful." Marissa said. "So you two are at the '_giving gifts_' stage, that's serious."

"Yeah, I guess so." Elena said smiling. Seeing the necklace around the young blonde's neck, she added,"I see you're still wearing the necklace Jeremy gave you."

Marissa laid her hand on the four left clover charm. She had worn the necklace just about everyday since he gave it to her months ago. She smiled then said,"Yeah, I really love it."

"He thought you would." Elena said. "I had offered to help him find you a present but as soon as he saw that, he said it would be perfect for you."

"Cause I'm so clumsy, I know." Marissa said laughing, remembering that is what he told her when he gave her the present.

"Right." Elena said. She didn't tell Marissa that really Jeremy got it cause he said she was his good luck charm, so it was only fair to give her some good luck.

Marissa opened her mouth to ask Elena where Jeremy was, but before she could, they heard loud cheering as the pep rally began.

"Come on, let's watch the pep rally together." Elena said, as she lightly grabbed Marissa's arm and pulled her toward the huge crowd.

The two girls stood side by side, as the band began to play and the cheerleaders began to cheer loudly as all the football players walked out and stood in front of a small stage. Mr. Tanner, the coach, walked across the stage and stood in front of the microphone.

While Elena and Stefan smiled at each other, Marissa glanced at all the players then smiled when she saw Tyler looking at her. He gave her a quick wink and smiled back, causing her blush and lower her head.

While Coach Tanner began to talk about how great Stefan was, Marissa raised her head and looked at Tyler again, this time he had an angry expression on his face and his arms folded across his chest. She saw him whisper something to Matt, then began to walk away from all the players.

"I'll be right back." Marissa said to Elena, as she handed Elena the video camera then turned around to walk through all the people as she looked for Tyler. She could tell he was pissed off and was hoping she could calm him down before someone got hurt.

"Hey, babe. What's wrong?" Marissa heard Vicki asked. She turned her head toward Vicki and saw Vicki trying to keep Tyler from going after someone. She looked over to the side and saw the person Tyler was going after was Jeremy.

"Oh no." Marissa said quietly to herself, as she ran toward the two boys, hoping to stop them before either one could throw a punch.

"Don't look so down. You can have them both when I'm done." Tyler said to Jeremy, as he stood in front of him.

Without a second thought Jeremy raised his arm and punched Tyler in the face, Tyler rushed toward him and slammed him into the truck, he had been sitting on, causing a bottle to fall and break.

"Tyler, stop it. Tyler." Vicki yelled out, as she stood near the fighting but was at a loss on how to help stop it.

"Jeremy." Marissa screamed out, as she watched Tyler slam Jeremy down on the ground before repeatedly punching him in the face.

Marissa, seeing Jeremy in trouble, didn't think twice as she ran over to them. She grabbed Tyler's arm, hoping to stop him from punching Jeremy again, instead Tyler; not knowing who was grabbing him, lashed out and pushed her aside.

Marissa fall hard on to the ground and cried out in pain when her elbow hit the hard ground. She sat up and held her elbow, as Stefan stepped up and grabbed Tyler's wrist, finally stopping the fight.

"Hey, he's down. Enough." Stefan called out.

Tyler stood up to face Stefan then punched him hard in the stomach. He looked at Stefan with a scared look on his face when he saw the punch had no effect on him.

Jeremy glanced over at Marissa; who was still sitting on the ground holding her arm and felt anger over take him again at seeing her hurt by Tyler. He quickly grabbed the broken bottle from the ground and went after him.

"Jeremy, no." Marissa screamed, as she sat there helpless on the ground.

As Jeremy swung the bottle toward Tyler, he quickly moved out of the way, causing Jeremy to slice Stefan's hand open.

Elena rushed over to Jeremy, as Matt held Tyler back and told him to knock it off.

"What the hell, Jeremy?" Elena asked him angrily. She tilted his head back, as she added,"Put your head up, you're bleeding."

"I'm fine." Jeremy called out, as he pushed Elena away from him.

"Yeah, you smell fine." Elena said sarcastically, when she smelled the alcohol on him.

"Just stop, okay?" Jeremy said angrily. "I need to check on Rissa." He added with a concern look. Now that his anger had melted away, all he was worried about was her.

Elena watched as he walked over to his blonde friend before walking over to Stefan to check on his hand. She was surprised to see his hand was fine, there was no cut or blood but she could have sworn she saw some before.

"Hey, you okay?" Jeremy asked Marissa, as he held out a hand to her.

Marissa placed her hand in his and winced in pain as he easily pulled her up from the ground, before whispering, "I'm fine."

"Don't worry, I'll get that asshole for hurting you." Jeremy promised her.

"Jeremy, please don't. Just let it go." Marissa begged him.

"Why are you protecting that dick, even now after he hurt you, you are still protecting him." Jeremy said to her angrily.

"I'm not protecting him, Jer, I'm protecting you." Marissa called out. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"He didn't hurt me." Jeremy said, as he rolled his eyes and spit some blood out of his mouth.

"But he could have." Marissa pointed out. "What if he had grabbed the bottle and cut you? Or what if next time it's something worse than a bottle? Don't you see Jeremy, you could get hurt and I'm not going to let that happen."

Jeremy wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him as tears began to fill her eyes. "Nothing and no one is going to hurt me." He told her, as he held her close.

Marissa scoffed as she raised her head and looked at him, then said,"You are not invincible, Jeremy. You have got to stop all of this. All of the drinking, the drugs and the fights."

Jeremy groaned as he took a step back from her. He was so tired of Marissa, Elena and everything telling him what to do. Even though he hated fighting with Marissa, he couldn't stop himself as he yelled at her,"Don't start that shit now, Rissa, I mean it."

"No, Jeremy, I will start, cause I'm being serious here. You need to stop it." Marissa said back angrily.

"The only thing I'm going to stop around here, is this is conversation." Jeremy spat out, as he turned around to walk away.

"Stop walking away from me, Jeremy." Marissa called out, as she grabbed his arm, trying to stop him, but he jerked his arm away.

"I only do it because it keeps me from saying things you don't want to hear." Jeremy yelled, as he turned back around and continued to walk away from her.

Marissa folded her arms across her chest and sighed in frustration as he walked away. She thought about going after him, but before she could, Caroline run over to her with a worried look on her face.

"Oh, my God, Rissa, I just heard what happened. Are you okay?" Caroline said, as she wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her tight.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just hit my arm when I fell." Marissa answered.

"Let me see." Caroline said, as she lightly grabbed her arm and checked over it. She felt anger over take her when she saw a small bruise forming near her sister's elbow.

Caroline looked up to Marissa's face and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could Tyler jogged over to them. He had planned to talk to Marissa. to apologize and beg her to forgive him, until Caroline stepped in front of him and pushed Marissa behind her.

"Rissa, I am sor-"

"Not now, Tyler." Caroline said angrily, interrupting him.

"Caroline, I just want to talk to her for a second." Tyler said, trying to reason with her.

"I said not now." Caroline said. "And if you come a step closer, I will shove my pom-poms up your ass."

"Okay, fine, whatever." Tyler mumbled, as he threw up his hands in surrender and took a few steps back before turning around and walking away.

"Care, you didn't have to do that." Marissa said once Tyler was gone.

"The hell I didn't, that jerk hurt you, Rissa." Caroline said, as she turned around to look at her baby sister. "He's just lucky I didn't have my pom-poms with me right now."

Marissa couldn't help but laugh at her sister's comment. Plus she was right, Tyler is lucky that all Caroline did was threaten him.

"Come on, let's get you home." Caroline said, as she threw an arm around her shoulder and began to walk toward the parking lot.

"But what about the game?" Marissa asked in shock. She knew Caroline would never miss a chance to cheer at any game, much less the first one of the season.

"I don't care about the game, I care about you, sis." Caroline said, as she rested her head on Marissa's head.

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she wrapped her good arm around Caroline's waist. She was really glad to have her sister with her right now.

With all the angry and confusing thoughts running through her head, she didn't think she could handle talking to Jeremy, Tyler or anyone else right now. Right now she only wanted one person by her side and that was her big sister.

_- (o0o) -  
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After returning home and taking a quick shower, Marissa sat in her bed with a bag of ice on her arm as she used her good arm to slowly type on her pink laptop. She was hoping to finish the report for English before she went to bed, but was surprised when a message from Tyler popped up on her screen.

_'Is the big bad Care Bear still lurking around or can you talk?'_

She rolled her eyes and chuckled at his comment, even if she wasn't ready to talk to him, she still had to admit he was funny. She placed her hand on the keyboard as she thought about what to type back, but before she could type a word, there was a knock at her bedroom door before Caroline walked in.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Caroline asked her, as she walked across the floor then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Homework." Marissa answered, as she closed her laptop then sat it beside her on the bed.

"You should be taking it easy tonight, I'll help you with homework tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Marissa answered, then asked,"Did you get in touch with mom?"

"Yeah, she's going to be working late again tonight." Caroline said. She wondered if she should tell Marissa why their mom was working late. She finally decided that her sister deserved to know what was going on.

"She's heading over to the school right now." Caroline added.

"Why? Did she hear about the fight? Is Jeremy going to be in trouble?" Marissa asked with a worried expression on her face.

"No, no. It's not about that." Caroline said. "Apparently there was an animal attack after we left and now Mr. Tanner is dead,"

"Oh, my God." Marissa said, as she laid a hand over her mouth. She knew Tanner was not anyone's favorite teacher, but she knew no one would wish death on him.

"What kind of animal would just attack a grown man and kill him?" Marissa asked.

"I don't know, that's what mom is trying to figure out. So she'll be gone all night probably." Caroline answered.

Marissa looked down at her zebra print comforter as she thought about all that had happened that night. From Jeremy and Tyler fighting, to her and Jeremy fighting and now Mr. Tanner's death, she had a feeling this was all just the beginning.

Suddenly, the sisters looked up when they heard the doorbell ring through out the silent house.

"I wonder who that could be this late?" Marissa questioned.

"I dunno, but I'll check it out." Caroline said, as she stood up. "But if it's Tyler, I swear I'm grabbing my pom-poms."

Marissa laughed out loud as Caroline left the bedroom and walked over to the front door. She rolled her eyes when she saw Jeremy standing on the other side.

"What do you want?" Caroline asked him, as she opened the door with an annoyed look on her face.

"Can I talk to her, please, Caroline." Jeremy pleaded with her, as he held a small brown paper bag in his hand.

"I don't think so, Jeremy, go home." Caroline said, as she went to slam the door in his face, until Marissa spoke up behind her.

"It's okay, Care, you can let him in." Marissa said, as she folded her arms across her chest and looked over at Jeremy with a hurt expression on her face.

Caroline sighed as she opened the door back up, then said,"Come on in then."

Jeremy walked into the house and looked over at Marissa. He was unsure about what she was thinking at the moment but he knew she had to be pissed and probably upset with him right now.

"Hi." Jeremy said to her with a small smile.

"Hi." Marissa said back.

"Okay, you two kids have fun talking, kissing or how ever you two make-up." Caroline said to the two younger teens. "I'm going to bed."

After Caroline walked into her bedroom and shut the door, Jeremy said to Marissa,"I brought you something."

"What?" Marissa asked.

Jeremy didn't say anything as he reached into the bag and pulled out a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and two plastic spoons. He gave her a small shrug as he said,"I figured we could crawl into your bed and enjoy some of your favorite, what do you say?"

"I say... you always did know the way to my heart, Jer." Marissa joked with a smile on her face cause him to smile back. She pointed a finger at him, as she added."But this doesn't mean you are forgiven, it's just a start."

"Of course, I know with the way I've been acting lately, I've got a lot to apologize for, but I am really sorry, Ris." Jeremy said softly.

"I know." Marissa said back. She held out her hand, as she said,"Come on, let's go eat ice cream and talk."

Jeremy smiled as he walked toward her and laid his hand in hers to follow her into her bedroom. They both climbed into her bed and sat side by side with their backs against the headboard.

Jeremy handed her a spoon then took the lid off of the pint of ice cream, she reached over to stick her spoon into the ice cream then placed the cold minty bite into her mouth. She closed her eyes and quietly moaned at how good the ice cream was, causing Jeremy to look over at her and chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Marissa asked, as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"You always do that. You always moan when you eat the first bite like it's your first time eating it." Jeremy said laughing.

"I can't help that it's good ice cream." Marissa said laughing back.

"But it's the same kind we always get, you know what it taste like before you even try it."

"The first bite always taste different."

"No it doesn't." Jeremy said, laughing again.

"Yes it does." Marissa argued back.

"If you say so, weirdo." Jeremy joked.

"You're the weirdo, weirdo." Marissa joked back.

The two friends look at each other then laughed out loud before sticking their spoons back into the ice cream. They ate silently for a few minutes until all the ice cream was gone, then Jeremy sat the empty pint and spoons down on the floor. He looked at Marissa and cleared his throat before speaking up.

"I meant what I said before, I really am sorry, Rissa. I don't know what has gotten into me lately." He softly said. "I know it's probably the drugs and alcohol making me act this way, but I don't know if I can stop."

"You can, Jer, and I'll help you." Marissa said, as she laid her hand on top of his and gave his hand a light squeeze, letting him know she was there for him.

"I just can't stop feeling angry all the time."

"At Tyler?" Marissa asked confused. She knew the two boys didn't like each other, but she knew it had to be more it to than that. She just hoped Jeremy would finally open up to her and tell her what was bothering him.

"No, not just Tyler. I'm angry at everyone." Jeremy explained. "I'm angry at every little kid who gets to hang out with their dad or hug their mom. I'm angry at every family that gets to sit down for dinner together every night. I'm angry at you, Elena, Jenna and everyone else who is pushing me to stop being an asshole even though I know you all only do it cause you care. I hate that look in your eyes every time I disappoint you, but mostly I'm pissed at myself cause it should have been me."

"What should have been you?" Marissa asked.

"It should have been me in the car, it should have been me that died. Not mom, not dad, just me." Jeremy confessed with tears in his eyes.

"Don't ever say that. Jer, your parents would be heartbroken if they heard you say that."

"Yeah well they're not here to hear it." Jeremy said bitterly. "And it's all my fault."

"No, it's not." Marissa said, hoping to reason with him.

"But it is, Rissa, I had used up all the milk that morning for breakfast, so I called mom's cellphone and asked them to buy more on the way home, cause I just had to have it then. Mom tried to get me to wait until tomorrow, but I wouldn't listen, so I started arguing with her and dad grabbed the phone out of her hand to yell at me then the next thing I know I heard mom and Elena screaming over the phone then a loud crash." Jeremy explained, as a few tears fell down his face. His voice cracked as he whispered,"It's my fault."

Marissa wrapped her arm around him and pulled his head down to her chest, as she said,"It is not your fault, Jeremy, you can't blame yourself for this."

"Where ever they are now, I know they must hate me, for what I've done, for what I've become." Jeremy said quietly.

"No, where ever they are, they still love you just as much now as they did the day you were born. You are exactly the way they wanted you to be and I know they were proud of you." Marissa said, as she ran her fingers through his hair, hoping to comfort him.

"How do you know?" Jeremy asked.

"Cause they both have told me, numerous of times, but even if they didn't, I would still know that's the way they feel cause I could see it in their eyes every time they looked at you. You made them so happy Jer and I know even now they're happy and they miss you and love you, they would never hate you or blame you for what happened." Marissa explained.

Jeremy sighed, then said,"I don't know what I would do without you, Rissa."

"Don't worry cause you'll never find out, cause I'm never going anywhere." Marissa said, as she kissed the top of his head then she rested her chin on his head. "I've got your back and you've got mine, always." She whispered.

"Always." Jeremy repeated with a small smile on his face.

He felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders since opening up to her and for the first time since losing his parents he felt okay. He didn't feel angry, broken or consumed with rage and sure he wasn't completely happy but he was getting there and it was all thanks to Marissa, he just hoped he would never lose her.

_- (o0o) -  
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Later that night, after hours of talking, Marissa and Jeremy finally fell asleep in her bed. Marissa was sleeping soundly until she heard what sounded like light footsteps in her room.

She quickly sat up in bed then glanced down beside her to see Jeremy still laying beside her, fast asleep. She looked up and glanced around her room. She could have sworn she heard someone in her room but was glad to see she was wrong.

_'Maybe it was Caroline.'_ Marissa thought to herself, as she slowly got out of bed, careful to not wake up Jeremy.

She tip-toed across the floor then slowly opened her door wide enough to sneak out of it and walked out into the empty hallway. She glanced at her mom and Caroline's closed bedroom doors before softly walking down the short hallway and into the empty living room.

She walked over to the front door to double check if it was locked before peeking out the window into the front yard. After not seeing anyone or her mother's car in the driveway, she realized she must have been hearing things.

Marissa turned back around to head toward her bedroom then stopped when she thought she heard something behind her. She quickly turned around and glanced around the empty living room again, then breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see anything.

She turned back around again and gasped in surprise when she saw Jeremy standing in front of her.

"Jeez, Jer, you scared me." Marissa whispered, as she placed a hand over her heart.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy whispered back. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I heard someone in my room, but I didn't see anyone so I thought I would check the house." Marissa explained.

"Maybe you were dreaming." Jeremy suggested.

"Maybe, but I don't know." Marissa said, as she thought back to all the time she felt like she was being watched.

"What do you mean? Did something happened?" Jeremy asked concerned.

"Nothing major, just a few weird things." Marissa answered. "Like I've seen this big black crow a few times then after that I always get this feeling like I'm being watched."

"I think you've seen to many horror movies." Jeremy said with a laugh.

"Which is your fault by the way. You know I hate movies like that but you always make me watch them with you." Marissa added as she laughed back.

"Well let's go back to bed, I'm sure you were just dreaming or you were imagining things." Jeremy said, as he grabbed her hand and began to walk back toward her bedroom.

"I hope you're right." Marissa mumbled, as she followed along behind him.

Once inside her bedroom, Jeremy laid down on his back then pulled her down on to the bed beside him. She laid her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, hoping to ease her fears.

"Don't worry, Rissa, everything will be okay. I won't let anything hurt you." Jeremy promised, as he lightly ran a hand up and down her back.

"I know." Marissa said with a small smile, as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before falling back to sleep.

After the two teenagers fell back into a deep sleep, Damon walked out from behind a tree that was near her bedroom window. He smirked as he listened to them peacefully sleep inside the house.

He didn't know why he enjoyed stalking the youngest member of the Forbes family. It wasn't cause he was attracted to her, even though she was very beautiful, but his heart only belonged to one woman and that was Katherine.

But he did enjoy that look of terror in her eyes anytime he followed her or appeared in front of her. If there was one thing he enjoyed more than drinking blood, it was frightening someone.

He loved to hear them gasp for breath and their heart begin to race when he popped up unexpectedly in front of them. It gave him a thrill to have that much control over someone's emotions. It was all a game to him and he loved it.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Marissa." Damon said to no one, as he glanced at her bedroom window one more time before walking away from the house and into the shadows.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

_a/n - hey all, here is the last bit of episode three. I hoped you all enjoyed it. Big thanks to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to VervainHearts and KyroxIsxSmexy for reviewing the last chapter. Happy reading =)  
><em>


	6. Family Ties:Part 1

**Family Ties | Part One  
><strong>

The next morning, Caroline stood in the living room. She took a small sip of hot coffee from the bright blue coffee cup she was holding as she watched her mom, the sheriff, on tv speaking at a press conference.

_'I can confirm that a 12-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition' _Sheriff Forbes said, to all the reporters standing in front of her.

After making that statement, reporters began to shoot out questions and Sheriff Forbes did her best to answer them all. She was in the middle of answering a question, when Caroline grabbed the remote control from the coffee table and shut the tv off.

Caroline walked into the kitchen and sat her empty cup in the sink, then glanced over at the clock on the wall. She couldn't believe her sister was still sleeping when it was already past noon.

Caroline left the kitchen and made her way over to Marissa's bedroom door. Without knocking, she opened the door and walked inside the bedroom. She couldn't keep a smile from her face when she saw the scene in front of her. Jeremy was laid on his back and Marissa was laying beside him on her side with her head on his chest, they were both sound asleep.

Most sisters would freak out over finding their little sister in bed with a boy, but Caroline was use to seeing them sleep together. Jeremy and Marissa had been sharing a bed and sleeping together since they were babies, plus Caroline knew they were still just friends, although she couldn't wait until the day they become more.

"Alright you two, time to get up." Caroline called out, as she walked over toward them and laid her hands on the edge of the bed to give it a little shake.

"Go away." Marissa mumbled, as she snuggled closer to Jeremy. She was too comfortable at the moment and had no intentions on moving. After staying up late talking and then freaking out over a noise she imagined, she needed more sleep.

"It's getting late and its time to get up." Caroline said, as she shook the bed again.

"But I don't wanna." Marissa whined.

Jeremy couldn't help laughing as the two sisters continued to bicker at each other. As much as he would love to keep laying in bed, holding Marissa, he knew Caroline was right, it was time to get up and face the day.

"She's right, we should get up." Jeremy said to Marissa.

"See, I told you. Thank you, Jeremy." Caroline said smiling.

Marissa sighed out loud then said,"Alright fine, we're getting up."

As Marissa sat up, Jeremy stoop up from the bed, as he said,"Plus, I should probably head home before Elena starts freaking out."

As if on cue, they heard his cellphone began to ring. He slipped the phone out of his front pants pocket and sighed when he looked at the caller ID.

"She's calling already?" Marissa asked him with a laugh.

"Yeah, actually I have thirteen missed calls from her." Jeremy said. "I better go, but I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Both Forbes sisters called out, as Jeremy walked out of the bedroom.

After they heard the front door shut, Marissa looked at Caroline and asked,"What time is it anyway?"

"A little after twelve." Caroline answered. She sat down on the edge of the bed, as she said,"Mom was just on tv."

"Why?"

"They caught the animal that attacked Mr. Tanner, it was a mountain lion." Caroline answered.

"Thank God. I'm glad all of that is over, but poor Mr. Tanner." Marissa said sincerely.

"Yeah." Caroline agreed. "So what do you want to do today?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Sleep." Marissa answered, as she laid back on the mattress.

"You can't sleep. It's a beautiful Saturday, we should do something." Caroline said, as she grabbed Marissa's arms and pulled her back up, causing the girl to hiss in pain when she grabbed her hurt arm.

"Oh, my God, Rissa, I'm so sorry, I forgot about your arm. Is it okay?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, its fine. Just sore." Marissa answered.

"I know what you need." Caroline said. "Some retail therapy."

"You want to go shopping?" Marissa asked. Although she shouldn't have been surprised. Shopping and cheerleading were Caroline's two favorite hobbies.

"Yeah, why not?"

"You said it's a beautiful day outside, so why do you want to be stuck inside buildings all day?" Marissa asked.

"Because shopping is the best thing to do on a weekend. Who wants to be outside in the hot sun when you could be trying on pretty clothes under the AC." Caroline pointed out.

Marissa laughed at loud at her sister's comment, then said,"Okay, Care, whatever you think."

"So you in?" Caroline asked with a hopeful smile.

"Sure, let's go shopping."

"Yay!" Caroline called out happily, as she stood up from the bed, clapping her hands.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

"I still think I should have got that dress." Caroline said, as she and Marissa walked across the parking lot toward the grill. After shopping for a couple of hours, the girls decided to take a break and catch a late lunch.

"You mean the boob dress?" Marissa asked her.

"Boob dress?" Caroline asked confused.

"Yeah, that dark purple dress that would not hold your boobs in." Marissa explained. She let out a laugh, then added,"Your girls were flying everywhere, Care."

"They were not! It was a beautiful dress." Caroline argued.

"It was beautiful, but not the dress for you. Mom would have a fit if she saw you in that dress. Of course that would be after she arrested you for indecent exposure." Marissa said, laughing.

"It wasn't that bad." Caroline said laughing back. She groaned, then added,"Ugh, why is it so hard to find a dress."

"Care, you have tons of dresses." Marissa pointed out.

"I know, but I wanted to buy a new one for the Founder's Party tomorrow." Caroline said.

"I still can't believe you are taking Damon as your date." Marissa mumbled. "Mom is going to flip when you sees you two." She added.

"And I'm supposed to care why?" Caroline snapped.

"Cause she's a very proud gun owner; who will be pissed at seeing you show up with an older guy." Marissa pointed out.

"And once again, I don't care." Caroline said. "I really wish you were coming though."

"I know, but I don't have a date and the last thing I'm going to do is be a third wheel to you and Damon." Marissa stated.

"Why don't you ask Jeremy?" Caroline suggested.

"I would, but one; he doesn't like those type of things, and two; he hates Tyler and since it's going to be at the Lockwood mansion, it's probably best he stays away." Marissa explained, as she opened the door and walked into the restaurant with Caroline following along behind her. She would love to go to the party with Jeremy, but she knew he wouldn't be caught dead going to one, so she figured it was no point in asking.

"Why don't you ask Tyler then?" Caroline suggested, as she nodded her head toward the back of the building.

Marissa glanced in the direction Caroline was pointing out and saw Tyler sitting in a booth with his parents. She had not seen or talked to him since the fight between him and Jeremy the night before and she wasn't sure if she was ready to deal with him now.

"I'm sure Tyler is going with Vicki, you know his girlfriend." Marissa pointed out.

"Please, like he would take that trash with him to his parent's party." Caroline said. "Besides I know you would rather go as his date."

"Why would you say that?" Marissa asked innocently. She had never told Caroline about her crush on Tyler and she was really hoping her sister didn't figure it out.

"Cause of the massive crush you have on him." Caroline teased.

"Who told you that?" Marissa asked shocked. She had only told two people, Jeremy and Elena, and she knew neither one of them would betray her.

"No one, I read your diary." Caroline answered with a shrug, like it was no big deal.

"Care!" Marissa called out. "I can't believe you would do that."

"Sorry, but I found it and I couldn't help myself." Caroline said. "By the way, putting it in your underwear drawer is not a good hiding place."

"What were you doing in my underwear drawer anyway?" Marissa asked.

"I was looking for a strapless bra." Caroline answered. She paused for a moment, then added,"You know, you have a lot of sexy underwear for someone who is not having sex."

"Oh, my God." Marissa breathed out, as she covered up face in embarrassment. "Can we please change the subject?" She begged, wanting to talk about anything but this.

"Sure." Caroline said. "But don't worry I won't tell anyone what I read. Your secret crush is safe with me." She promised.

"Thanks." Marissa mumbled, as they walked toward the back of the restaurant.

"Hello girls, you look lovely this evening." Mrs. Lockwood called out, as Caroline and Marissa walked by their table.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood, you look lovely too." Marissa said with a kind smile. She looked over at Mr. Lockwood, ignoring Tyler, as she added, "Hello, Mayor Lockwood."

"Hello girls." Mr. Lockwood said, as he stood up from the table. He looked at his wife, as he said,"I'll meet you in the car, dear."

"Okay." Mrs. Lockwood said to her husband. She looked at the blonde sisters, as she said,"I hope you two are joining us at the Founder's Party tomorrow."

"I will be there, Mrs. Lockwood." Caroline said. She nodded toward her sister, as she added,"But Rissa won't, cause she doesn't have a date."

"Caroline." Marissa hissed. She couldn't believe Caroline would just blurt that out. She hoped her sister wouldn't say anything else embarrassing, like a certain secret she just swore to keep.

"Well I'm sure Tyler wouldn't mind being your date, would you, Ty?" Mrs. Lockwood asked her son. She looked back at Marissa, as she added,"He talks about you all the time."

"Mom!" Tyler called out.

"What?" Mrs. Lockwood asked him innocently. "It's true, you do talk about her a lot."

"Just stop, okay?" Tyler begged his Mom, as he glanced off to the side and noticed Vicki standing behind his mother. He cursed quietly under his breath when he saw the angry look on her face and knew she had overheard everything.

"Thanks for the offer, Mrs. Lockwood, but I'm not really in a party mood after getting hurt last night." Marissa said nicely to her.

"What happened last night?" Mrs. Lockwood asked with a concern look on her face. She turned to look at her son, as she asked,"Did something happen at the game? You didn't mention that Marissa got hurt."

Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had not told his parents about the fight last night and he was hoping Marissa wouldn't either.

"I hurt my elbow last night." Marissa answered.

"Oh, that's terrible, are you okay? What happened?" Mrs. Lockwood asked.

"Some stupid jock knocked me down while fighting another boy." Marissa answered, as she cut her eyes to Tyler before looking back at Mrs. Lockwood. "I'm okay, just sore, so it's probably best I sit this party out."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but we all still hope you can make it." Mrs. Lockwood stated.

"Thanks, we'll see." Marissa said to Mrs. Lockwood, as she and Caroline began to walk away, When she walked by Tyler she said quietly to him,"Besides, I like a guy who can ask me out himself."

Tyler glanced over at Marissa and couldn't help but smile at her comment, he admired her spunk.

"I'll see you at home, son, but don't forget to go by the Gilbert's house to pick up their donations for the Heritage Display." Mrs. Lockwood said to Tyler.

"Okay, mom." Tyler mumbled, as she walked away, leaving him alone at the table.

Once his mom was gone, Tyler glanced over at Marissa; who was sitting at a booth with Caroline. He can't deny that he liked her, even though he knew it wrong since he had a girlfriend.

_'Speaking of which.' _He thought to himself, as he stood up and made his way over to Vicki; who was busy working and trying to ignore him.

"Are you going to talk to me?" Tyler asked her.

"Oh, your parents are gone and now you want to talk to me." Vicki snapped.

"What the hell does that mean?" Tyler questioned.

"You treat me like trash. I'm sick of it." Vicki angrily said.

"I don't think you're trash." Tyler said softly.

"Really? Is that why you're taking Rissa to the Founder's party?" Vicki bitterly asked.

Tyler rolled his eyes, then said,"I'm not taking her. Mom just suggested that I be her date."

"And you want to do it. You want to ask her out, you want to flaunt her around in front of your parents and all your little buddies cause she's the type of person you're meant to be with, not someone like me, from the wrong side of the tracks." Vicki said, as she went to walk away.

Tyler lightly grabbed her arm, then said,"That's not true."

"Yes it is." Vicki argued. "I've seen the way you look at her, Ty. You like her."

"If I like her so much, then why am I dating you instead of her?" Tyler pointed out.

"To piss off your parents, but once you're done, you'll toss me aside and run to her." Vicki said, as she tried to control her emotions. The last thing she wanted to do was get upset over some guy,

Tyler scoffed, then said,"Whatever, you're just pissed I didn't invite you to be my date, right? That's what this is all about."

"No, Ty, it's not. Besides I don't want to go. It'll be stupid and lame." Vicki stated.

"Whatever, do what you want then." Tyler angrily mumbled, as he walked off.

Tyler walked toward the back of the building, where the bathrooms were located. As he went to go inside the men's room, Marissa walked out of the women's bathroom.

"Hey." Tyler said to her.

"Hey." Marissa said back.

"You said you wanted a guy who's asking, so I'm asking, you want to be my date for the Founder's Party?" Tyler asked, as he shot her a grin. He knew he probably shouldn't be asking her, but since Vicki was in one of her moods, he figured why not.

Marissa scoffed, then said,"You're only asking cause your mom told you to."

"No, I'm asking cause I want to." Tyler pointed out, as he took a step closer to her.

"Tyler-" Marissa began to say.

"Look, I know you're pissed at me about the whole Jeremy thing, but I'm sorry, alright? I was just pissed off at the whole Stefan football thing and Jeremy was an easy target." Tyler said, interrupting her.

"Okay, I'll go." Marissa said after thinking for a few minutes. Before he could say anything, she held up a finger, as she added,"On one condition."

"What?" Tyler asked.

"If you lay off of Jeremy." Marissa said.

"I'll try." Tyler said.

"Try harder. I'm tired of you two fighting all the time." Marissa said with a sigh.

"Ok,ay I'll do it." Tyler said. He smiled at her, as he asked,"So it's a date?"

"It's a date." Marissa said smiling back.

"Good." Tyler said. He took another step toward her, as he softly said,"I'm sorry for hurting you, by the way."

"It's okay." Marissa said with a shrug like it was no big deal.

"It's not okay, I never want to hurt you, Rissa." Tyler said sincerely.

Marissa gave him a small smile, then said,"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Tyler said back with a smile, before he walked past her to enter the men's bathroom.

Marissa couldn't stop grinning as she walked back over to the table she and Caroline were sitting at. She sat down across from Caroline and tried to stop smiling, but was finding it extremely hard to do.

"What?" Caroline asked, when she saw the dorky smile on her sister's face.

"What what?" Marissa asked, playing dumb.

"Don't '_what what_' me, what is the goofy grin about?" Caroline asked.

"I don't have a goofy grin." Marissa said.

"Yes you do, so what happened between here and going to the bathroom?" Caroline asked, as she raised her eyebrows in wonder.

"I ran into Tyler when I got out of the bathroom." Marissa stated like it was no big deal.

"And?"

"And, he asked me to be his date for the Founder's Party." Marissa said smiling.

"Ah! That is so exciting." Caroline squealed out loud.

"Shh, Care, keep it down." Marissa said, as people at tables near by began to stare at them.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy for you." Caroline said. "My little sister has a date." She added, with a clap.

Marissa continued to smile at Caroline's comment, she was excited as well about having a date and technically it was her first real date. She and Jeremy went out a lot, doing date type things, but it didn't count since it wasn't really a date. It was just two friends handing out.

"Oh! You know what we need to do." Caroline said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What?" Marissa asked, confused.

"We need to do more shopping. We have to find you an amazing dress to wear." Caroline said.

"Okay, but no boob dresses." Marissa joked.

"Okay deal." Caroline said laughing.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

A hour later, Caroline and Marissa walked into a new clothing store. They had already looked in three different stores, but so far have not found the perfect dress yet.

"I don't think we're ever going to find a dress." Marissa said with a sigh. She was getting tired of looking and starting to give up hope on finding a good dress for tomorrow night.

"Don't worry, Rissa, we'll find the perfect dress for you." Caroline promised, as she began to flip through the different dresses hanging on the wall.

"Maybe I shouldn't go." Marissa suggested. She was suddenly starting to have second thoughts.

"No, you're going. You have to go, Rissa." Caroline said.

"But we've been looking for hours and still haven't found the dress. Maybe that's a sign." Marissa pointed out.

"You're right, it is a sign." Caroline said. "It's a sign that this town needs better dresses."

"But-"

"No buts, you're going." Caroline said. She handed Marissa a few dresses she had picked out, as she said,"Now go try these on."

"Fine." Marissa mumbled, as she walked toward the back of the store then walked into a dressing room.

A few minutes later, she looked into the full length mirror and smiled at the dress she was wearing. She was sure she had finally found the dress. It was a strapless light turquoise dress with a sweetheart neckline and it ended a few inches above her knees with a wide band around the waist and tulle on the bottom skirt.

Marissa was still admiring herself in the mirror when her cell phone began to ring. She walked over to her purse sitting on the floor and pulled her cell phone out.

"Hello?" Marissa said, as she answered the call.

_"Hey, what are you doing?"_ Jeremy asked her.

"Shopping with Caroline." Marissa answered.

_"Sounds like fun, I guess."_ Jeremy said laughing.

"Yeah it's been fun, you know Caroline can always making shopping fun." Marissa said with a laugh.

_"What are you shopping for?"_ Jeremy asked.

"Oh.. um.. just stuff." Marissa lied. She hated lying to Jeremy but she wasn't sure how to tell him she was going to the Founder's Party with Tyler.

_"Cool."_ Jeremy said. _"The reason I called was to see if you wanted to hang out tomorrow night. Aunt Jenna and Elena are going to that lame party at the Lockwood's, so I thought we could watch a movie or something."_

"Oh.. yeah.. about that-" Marissa began to say.

_"I will even let you pick out the movie. I know how much you always hate the horror movies I pick out."_ Jeremy added with a laugh.

"Jeremy I would love to do that, I really would, but um... I-I can't do it tomorrow." Marissa stuttered.

_"Why not?"_ Jeremy asked.

Marissa sighed as she tried to think of a way to tell Jeremy that not only was she going to the party, but she was going as Tyler's date.

_"Let me guess, it's cause you are also going to the lame party as Tyler's date."_ Jeremy angrily said.

"How did you know?" Marissa asked, surprised.

_"Vicki told me."_ Jeremy answered. _"She heard the whole thing. From the way she tells it, Mrs. Lockwood basically already has a wedding planned for you and Tyler."_

Marissa rolled her eyes, then said,"Jer, it's not like that. Mrs. Lockwood just suggested that Tyler take me as his date. What was I suppose to say?"

_"You could have said no."_

"She's the mayor's wife, Jer, you can't tell her no." Marissa pointed out. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, causing her to say,"I can't believe Vicki ran and told you all about that."

_"At least someone told me."_ Jeremy bitterly said.

"I was going to tell you, Jeremy. I promise I was, I-I just, I didn't know what to say." Marissa said.

_"Try the truth."_ Jeremy snapped, as he hung up the phone.

Marissa let out a sad sighed, as she placed the phone back in her purse. She hated fighting with Jeremy and she hated Vicki for starting trouble. Now she was really debated on if she should go to the party or not.

"Rissa?" Caroline called out. "Come out, I want to see the dress."

Marissa took a deep breath as she opened the door and stepped out of the dressing room. Caroline gasped in surprise when she saw her little sister in the beautiful blue dress.

"Oh, my God, that's it. That's the dress." Caroline said with a huge grin on her face. She placed her hands over her mouth for a moment, then removed them to ask,"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's nice." Marissa said with a forced smile.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked, concern.

"Nothing." Marissa said, the last thing she wanted to do was talk about her drama or confusing feelings. "I love it, it's beautiful." She added with a genuine smile.

"Great, go change and we'll buy it now." Caroline said, as she pushed Marissa back toward the dressing room.

Marissa walked back into the dressing room alone and sat down on the small bench that was inside. She sighed as she ran a hand through her blonde hair, she felt torn.

As much as she was looking forward to going to the party with Tyler, she hating hurting Jeremy. He had been her best friend through everything and was always there for her, but now her happiness was causing him heartache and she began to wonder if going was even worth it anymore.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After ending the call, Jeremy tossed his cell phone on to his bed and leaned against the headboard. He knew he was wrong for snapping at Marissa, but he couldn't help but be pissed that she was actually going out with Tyler.

He knew this day would come one day, since she had been crushing on the guy for years, but a part of him had hoped it never would have happened.

He glanced at his cell phone and wondered if he should call her back. He felt guilty for hanging up on her and ending things like that.

As he reached for the cell phone, he heard the doorbell ringing downstairs. He quickly stood up from his bed and made his way downstairs to open the door.

When he saw Tyler on the other side, he quickly tried to shut the door in his face.

"I'm here for my mom. I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff." Tyler said, as he laid a hand on the door and pushed it back open.

"Right here. Please be careful." Elena said, as she walked over to the front door, holding a box.

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick." Jeremy snapped.

"Hey." Elena called out. "Not now, okay, guys? Please?"

"I'm fine. He's just being a punk." Tyler coldly said.

"I got your punk." Jeremy said back, as he took a step toward Tyler.

"Look, Tyler, maybe you should go." Elena said, as she held Jeremy back. "Tell your mom that I'll see her tomorrow."

After Elena walked away, leaving the two boys alone, Tyler looked at Jeremy, as he said, "Hey. Would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Rissa?"

"Not even if you meant it." Jeremy answered, as he slammed the door in Tyler's face.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

_a/n - hey all, I thought I would end it here and save the rest of the episode, the Founder's Party, for the next chapter since this one was getting long. But I hope you all enjoyed it. I had fun writing the Rissa/Caroline scenes, I just love those two! Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, VervainHearts, Emmettluver2010, DamnWhoopsIMeantDamon and Sage Londyn for reviewing the last chapter. I'm really glad you all are enjoying this story cause I'm having a blast writing it =)_


	7. Family Ties:Part 2

**Family Ties | Part Two  
><strong>

The next evening, Marissa was sitting on the small black bench in front of the vanity mirror in her bedroom as she applied a little bit of blush on her cheeks. Once she was finished, she sat the blush brush down and picked up a light shade of lip-gloss as there was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in." Marissa called out.

"Wow, you look so beautiful, sis." Caroline said, as she walked into the bedroom in a light blue dress, smiling.

"Thanks, so do you." Marissa said, as she looked at Caroline through the mirror.

"Your hair looks really great. I'm glad you decided to leave it down." Caroline said, as she walked up behind her sister and touched her hair; which was long down her back in big curls.

"Thank you." Marissa said smiling.

"Are you ready?" Caroline asked. "Damon should be here soon." She added.

"Ugh, I still can't believe I have to ride with him to the party." Marissa groaned, as she applied the lip-gloss on her lips then stood up from the bench.

"Why can't we just go in your car?" Marissa asked, as she turned around to face Caroline.

"Cause Damon wants to be a gentleman and come pick me up." Caroline said smiling.

"Damon wouldn't know how to be a gentleman if his life depended on it." Marissa mumbled.

"Why do you hate Damon so much?" Caroline asked, as she folded her arms across her chest.

"You mean besides the fact that he's creepy?" Marissa asked.

"He's not creepy, Rissa." Caroline said, defending him.

"Yes he is. He just shows up out of nowhere and forces himself in our lives. You know nothing about him, he's dangerous and even his own brother doesn't like him." Marissa pointed out.

"Damon's not dangerous." Caroline said. "You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother, like major, deep-rooted drama."

"Like?" Marissa asked.

"I'm not really supposed to say anything." Caroline stated.

"See that is what I'm talking about, Care. You have never kept anything from me before, but now you're keeping Damon's secrets from me." Marissa said. "He has completely changed you."

"No he hasn't, I'm still the same old Caroline."

"Then tell me something about him, anything about him." Marissa said.

"I can't. I wish I could, Rissa, but I can't." Caroline softly said.

"Why not?" Marissa asked confused.

"I don't know. All I know is I can't tell you anything." Caroline replied.

"There are things Damon doesn't want you to tell me and you don't find that weird?" Marissa questioned. Hoping she could get her sister to understand how bad her relationship was.

"No, I don't." Caroline answered.

"Care..." Marissa softly said, but before she could say anything else, the sisters heard the doorbell ring.

"Damon's here." Caroline happily said, as she turned around to leave the room like the previous conversation never happened.

Marissa sighed as she watched her sister skip out of the room. She really wished she could get through to Caroline and help her understand that Damon was not the guy for her, but she was determined to keep trying.

"Come on, Rissa, we got to go." Caroline called out.

Marissa quickly slipped on a pair of white high heels and grabbed a small white clutch bag. It was made of beaded white satin with a butterfly clasp.

She placed the bag on her wrist using the wrist strap, then walked out of her bedroom and made her way into the living room to meet Caroline and Damon. She fought not to roll her eyes when Damon checked her out then smirked at her.

"You ready, Mini Forbes?" Damon asked her.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Marissa mumbled, as she walked past the couple then walked out of the house.

"See, she loves me." Damon joked sarcastically, as he looked over at Caroline.

"Just give her time, she'll see you as the great guy I know you are." Caroline stated.

"Or I could just compel her." Damon answered with a shrug.

"No, you are never to miss with my sister's mind like that." Caroline angrily said.

"Why not? That's what I do to you." Damon said smiling.

"What?" Caroline asked shocked. Even though she knew he was a vampire and that he could compel people, she never thought he did it to her. She thought he actually cared about her.

Damon looked at her and waited until she looked deep in his eyes, before saying,"Nothing, forget I said anything. Now let's go to the party."

"Let's go to the party." Caroline repeated with a smile.

"Yeah, let's go." Damon said with fake enthusiasm, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house and toward his car.

He was ready to get to the mansion, steal back his crystal and get the hell away from Caroline and the lame party.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

"Well here we are, ladies." Damon said, as he parked the car and got out of the driver's seat. He leaned the seat forward, then laid a hand out toward Marissa, offering to help her out of the back seat.

Marissa ignored his offered hand and stepped out of the car on her own. She was not about to touch Damon or let him help her do anything.

"Suit yourself." Damon mumbled, as he put the seat back then closed the car door.

"So are we ready to go inside?" Caroline asked, as she walked around the car to stand in front of Damon and Marissa.

"You two go ahead, I've got a call to make." Marissa stated.

"Okay, see you inside." Caroline said, as she linked her arm with Damon's then began to walk toward the huge house.

Marissa waited until she was alone before she opened up the clutch bag and removed her cell phone. She quickly dialed Jeremy's number then placed the phone up to her ear.

She sighed when she realized he wasn't going to answer. She listened to his short voice mail message then began to talk after the beep.

"Hey Jer, it's me." She softly said. "I know you're mad at me right now and I just wanted to say I'm sorry. You're my best friend and I care so much about you, I just want you to be happy and I hate that my happiness is hurting you. So whatever you need to do to be happy do it. If it's being with Vicki or with the other girl you like, then do it. Be happy, Jer. Fight for what you want cause I hate fighting with you. You're the most important person in my life and I don't want to lose you. So please just talk to me and forgive me. Please."

She took a deep breath as she ended the call and placed the cell phone back in her bag. She hoped after hearing her message that he would forgive her for going to the party and for being Tyler's date. He just had to cause she couldn't imagine living her life without Jeremy in it.

Marissa quickly turned around when she heard someone walking up behind her, she smiled when she saw who it was.

"Hey." Tyler said, as he stood in front of her.

"Hey." Marissa said back.

"I saw Caroline inside and she said you were out here." Tyler said. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, I just had to make a phone call." Marissa explained.

"Calling Gilbert?" Tyler guessed.

"Yeah." Marissa said with a sigh.

"I'm guessing he's pretty pissed that you're here with me, huh?" Tyler asked.

"You have no idea." Marissa said with a short laugh.

"Oh, well, it's a win-win for me." Tyler said. "I get to piss him off and have a pretty girl on my arm." He joked.

"Tyler, don't start." Marissa warned.

"You're right, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." Tyler said with an apologetic smile. "You ready to go in?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Marissa said smiling.

Tyler reached out to grab her arm and wrapped it around his arm, then he turned around and began to walk toward his house.

As they walked toward the front door, Mrs. Lockwood smiled when she saw them together. She had always thought they would make a cute couple.

"Hello, honey." Mrs. Lockwood said, as she smiled at her son. She looked at Marissa, as she added,"Hello, Marissa, you look very beautiful this evening."

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood, so do you." Marissa said with a kind smile.

"Please call me Carol." Mrs Lockwood said to her. She gestured toward the open doorway, as she added, "Well come on in and you two kids have fun."

"We will, mom." Tyler said, as he smiled at Marissa.

Marissa lowered her head and blushed, before looking at Mrs. Lockwood, and saying, "Thank you, Mrs- I mean, Carol."

Tyler held on to Marissa's arm, as they walked further into the house. She looked around in awe as they walked by all the huge rooms filled with beautiful furniture, painting and so on.

She had never been inside the Lockwood mansion before, but she had always wanted to. She had always imagined what it was look like on the inside, but it looked even more amazing then she had ever dreamed.

"Wow, your house is amazing." Marissa said, as she continued to glance around.

"It's alright. If you like living in a museum." Tyler joked. "I can give you a tour later if you want." He suggested.

"That would be great, thanks." Marissa said, as she looked at him and smiled.

Marissa looked away from Tyler and glanced at all the people, she lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she didn't see Caroline anywhere.

"Hey, have you seen my sister?" Marissa asked Tyler.

"When I saw her earlier she was heading for the dance floor with Stefan." Tyler answered.

"Stefan?" Marissa asked confused. She wasn't sure why her sister was dancing with Stefan instead of her date and boyfriend, Damon. She wondered what Caroline was up to, she knew it had to be something Damon related.

"Speaking of dancing, would you like to?" Tyler asked smiling.

Marissa gave him a surprised look, then asked,"You can dance?"

"Just follow me and be surprised." Tyler said, as he grabbed her hand and led her outside where everyone was dancing.

He stepped out on the dance floor and wrapped one arm around Marissa's waist, laying his hand flat on her back. He wrapped his other hand around her hand as she rested her arm around his neck before leading them into a dance as a classical song played faintly in the background.

"Wow, I guess that answered my question." Marissa said smiling. "Who would have known that Tyler Lockwood was actually a very good dancer."

"I told you I would surprise you." Tyler said smiling back. "Mom had me learning all of these dances before I could even walk." He explained.

"Ah, that would make sense." Marissa said.

They danced in silence for a few minutes, until Tyler spoke up and said,"I'm really glad you came tonight, Rissa."

"So am I." Marissa said smiling at him. "Even thought I'm only here cause your mom told you to invite me." She joked.

"That's not true. I wanted to ask you, I just didn't know if I should because of-"

"Vicki." Marissa finished for him.

"Yeah." Tyler said with a sigh.

"So why did you ask me instead of Vicki?" Marissa asked, curious of what his answer would be.

"Honestly? I don't know." Tyler said. "Don't get me wrong, I do like her, but she's just too much drama, ya know?"

"Well maybe you'll meet a drama-free girl soon." Marissa suggested.

Tyler pulled her body closer to his and leaned his head toward hers, his lips were only inches from hers when he looked into her eyes and softly said,"Maybe I will."

Marissa bit her bottom lip and smiled as she looked into his eyes and felt her heart race. This was the moment she had waited for as long as she could remember. The moment when Tyler would admit he liked her, gave her a kiss that would take her breath away and make all of her dreams come true.

Tyler grinned when he saw her glance at his lips. He knew she wanted him to kiss her and even though a part of him wanted to, he decided not to push things. For once instead of taking a girl straight to his bedroom, he wanted to take it slow and get to know her, which was something all new for him.

Just when Marissa thought Tyler was going to kiss her, he instead surprised her by dipping her down to the ground then pulling her back up and began to dance again, causing her to laugh out loud.

"Nice moves, Lockwood." Marissa said smiling.

"Thanks, Baby Forbes." Tyler said, smiling back.

While Tyler and Marissa were busy dancing, they didn't notice that anyone was watching them. Vicki stood off to the side and watched her boyfriend dance and almost kissed another girl. She folded her arms across her chest as she continued to watch them dance and flirt with each other.

Even though it was hard to watch, she knew it would happen. She could tell Tyler was into the girl no matter what he said otherwise. She shouldn't have been surprised by it, which she wasn't, but she was hurt.

Vicki looked away from the dancing couple and glanced over at the house when she saw Jeremy walk outside looking at all the people like he was looking for someone. A part of her had hoped he was looking for her, but she knew deep down who he was there for... Marissa.

Jeremy continued to glance around outside as he looked for certain blonde headed girl. He still couldn't believe he even showed up to this stupid party, but after hearing Marissa's message, he didn't think twice as he rushed over to the Lockwood mansion with a mission in mind. He was going to fight for the girl he loves.

"Jeremy, what are you doing here?" Elena asked in surprise, as she walked over to her little brother. She was surprised to see him here, until a thought crossed her mind. She smiled at him, then added,"Wait, you're here for Rissa, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Jeremy asked her shocked. He had never told Elena his feelings for Marissa and was surprised she knew.

"Please, I have known for years that you love that girl, I'm just glad to see you finally fight for her." Elena said smiling.

Jeremy smiled back, then said,"Have you seen her by the way? Where is she?"

"Oh, she's over..." Elena began to say, as she glanced around the room. Her voice trailed off when she saw Marissa and Tyler dancing together. She quickly looked over at Jeremy and hoped he didn't see them, but when she saw the heartbroken look on his face she knew he had.

"Jer, I'm sor-"

"Hey, it's cool. She made her choice." Jeremy said, interrupting Elena. He glanced off to the side and saw Vicki looking as heartbroken as he felt. He looked over at Elena, as he added,"And I've made mine."

Elena let out a sad sigh, as she watched Jeremy walk over to Vicki. She saw him say something to her then grab her hand before the two walked away together.

On the dance floor, Tyler and Marissa were still in the middle of dancing and unaware of what just happened. Tyler raised their arms above his head and spun her around a couple of times before laying his hand back on her back.

"So how's the arm?" Tyler asked her feeling guilty. He still hated the thought that he had hurt her a couple of night ago.

"Feeling better." Marissa said smiling.

Before he could say anything else, his mom walked up to the couple and said,"I'm sorry to interrupt, but could I borrow you for a minute, Tyler?"

"Okay." Tyler said, with a nod. He looked at Marissa, as he added,"I'll be back."

"Okay." Marissa said back, as she watched Tyler walk away with his mom.

Now alone, Marissa glanced around and tried to find a familiar face, unfortunately the only person she saw was Damon. He gave her a smile before walking over toward her.

"Damn." Marissa mumbled to herself, as she watched him get closer to her.

"Having fun, Mini Forbes?" Damon asked.

"I was." Marissa answered sarcastically.

"Would you like to dance?" Damon asked, as he held out a hand toward her.

"Not if you were the last man on earth." Marissa snapped before walking away from him.

Marissa walked inside the house and walked through the crowd of people standing around. She went to turn a corner but stop when she saw Tyler and his friend Brad talking, she stood with her back against the wall to listen when she heard her name being said.

"You and Forbes looked pretty cozy on the dance floor, you tap that yet?" Brad asked Tyler with an obnoxious smile, as he bump his shoulder against Tyler's.

"Man, I'm not telling you." Tyler said. He usually told his friends all about the girls he slept with but with Marissa he didn't want to say anything, he wanted to keep whatever would happen between them private.

"Since when? You always tell me about the girls you screw, don't tell me you are getting all soft on me now." Brad teased.

"Nah, man, it's not like that." Tyler said.

"Damn, I guess you're losing your touch, Lockwood. It's never taken you this long to get a girl into bed." Brad said, as he shook his head at Tyler in disappointment.

"I never said we didn't do it, I just said I wasn't telling you." Tyler said. "But I will tell you this much, I'll be having her screaming my name before the night is over."

"That's what I'm talking about! See, I knew you were still a player." Brad said laughing.

Tyler laughed along with him even though he felt guilty for what he said. He knew he shouldn't have said something like that, but his reputation was all he had and he couldn't stand the idea of his friend thinking he had went all soft for a girl; no matter how much he liked Marissa.

"Well I guess you were right, man. You said at the beginning of the school year, you bet you could get in her pants before the month was over." Brad said with a proud look on his face. "Although I thought you said you were just going to '_hit it and quit it_'?"

"What can I say man, she was too good to just quit, had to go back for seconds and thirds and fourths..." Tyler said laughing.

Marissa took a step back from the wall and felt tears fill her eyes. She couldn't believe what she had just overheard, not only did Tyler admit he was only trying to sleep with her, but he also lied and said they had slept together.

Marissa quickly made her way through the crowd of people and to the front door. She stepped outside into the cool night and began to walk as tears fell down her face. She choked back a sob, when she heard someone walk up behind her, but relaxed when she saw it was Bonnie.

"Rissa, are you okay?" Bonnie asked with a concern expression on her face when she saw tears on the younger girl's face.

"No." Marissa mumbled, as more tears began to fall.

"What happened? Did someone hurt you?" Bonnie asked, as she took a step closer to her.

"Overheard... Tyler... Jerk... Lied." Marissa said in between sobs.

"Shh, it's okay." Bonnie said, as she wrapped her arms around Marissa and let her cry on her shoulder.

"I was so stupid." Marissa cried.

"You're not stupid." Bonnie said, hoping to comfort her. "You just thought you saw something good in someone, we all have made that mistake."

Marissa let out a sad sigh, as she held on to Bonnie tighter. Bonnie was right, she thought she had seen something good in Tyler, but now she realized she was wrong, he was a jerk just like Jeremy had been trying to tell her.

"Do you want me to get Caroline for you?" Bonnie suggested, as she held on to the crying girl.

"No, I don't want to ruin her fun." Marissa said. "I just want to get out of here."

"Okay, you want me to take you home?" Bonnie asked, as she pushed Marissa back a little to look at her.

"Actually could you take me to Jeremy's house?" Marissa asked, suddenly needing her best friend.

"Sure, let's go." Bonnie said, as she lightly grabbed Marissa's hand and began to lead her to her car.

As Bonnie drove down the road, Marissa stared out the passenger window, deep in thought. She couldn't believe she had fallen for Tyler's charm, she now realized she should have listened to Jeremy.

A small smile appeared on her face as she thought about her best friend. He had always been the one who had her back, the one she could always count on and even when she had a stupid crush on Tyler, Jeremy was the one who tried so hard to protect her, but she wouldn't listen.

Now she realized that Tyler was not the type of guy she should be going for, she should have gone for someone like Jeremy. Someone who cared about her and would do anything for her; like give up his favorite ice cream so she could have her favorite. Someone who would just hold her when she was upset, someone who would always be there for her. Someone exactly like Jeremy.

_'Or maybe not someone exactly like Jeremy, maybe I should actually be with Jeremy.'_ Marissa thought to herself, as different images of Jeremy flashed through her mind. Jeremy smiling at her, Jeremy holding her close when she was upset, Jeremy tickling her and making her laugh. Every moment they had spent together flashed in her mind.

"Okay, we're here." Bonnie announced, as she stopped the car in front of the Gilbert house.

"Thank you, Bonnie." Marissa said, as she looked over at her friend with a small smile.

"Do you need me to wait for you?" Bonnie asked.

"No, I'll just stay here for the night." Marissa said, as she opened the car door and stepped out.

As Bonnie drove away, Marissa looked up at the house and took a deep breath. She was nervous about what she was about to do, but she knew it was the right thing, Jeremy was the right one for her.

Marissa walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. As she waited for Jeremy to answer, she ran a hand through her hair and took another deep breath.

After what felt like forever, the front door opened, only it wasn't Jeremy who answered it, it was Vicki.

Marissa felt her heart drop, when she saw Vicki standing in front of her in only a t-shirt that belonged to Jeremy, a shirt she had given to him one year for his birthday. By Vicki's appearance, it was obvious what the two had been doing.

"Can I help you?" Vicki asked, as she folded her arms across her chest and shot her a dirty look.

"I need to talk to Jeremy." Marissa said.

"Sorry, but he's a little busy right now." Vicki snapped.

Before Marissa could say anything else, she heard Jeremy called out,"Hey, Vic, who's at the door?"

"No one important." Vicki answered, as they heard Jeremy walking toward the front door.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked Marissa, as he stood beside Vicki.

"I need to talk to you, please, Jer." Marissa begged.

"Can it wait? I'm a little-"

"Busy, yeah I know." Marissa finished for him, as she cut her eyes to Vicki.

"Shouldn't Cinderella be at the ball dancing with her Prince? Oh no, wait, don't tell me the shoe didn't fit and now he moved on to someone else." Vicki said to her sarcastically.

Marissa turned her head and took a deep breath as new tears began to fill her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, she was done crying over that jerk.

Jeremy, seeing Marissa wipe away her tears, looked at Vicki and said,"Hey, Vic, could you give us a moment? I'll meet you upstairs."

"Don't take too long." Vicki said, as she laid her hands on either side of his face and gave him a long kiss before turning around and walking upstairs.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked Marissa after they were alone.

"You were right, Jer. You were right about everything and I'm sorry it took me so long to see it." Marissa said. "But I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about us, you and me."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Jeremy asked confused. "Are you worried about our friendship or something?"

"No, I-"

"Cause we're okay, Rissa. We're just friends, like always." Jeremy bitterly said, interrupting her.

"I know, but that's what I wanted to talk about, Jer." Marissa said. "I've been thinking and I-"

"Jeremy? Are you coming?" Vicki called out from upstairs, interrupting Marissa.

"Look, can we talk later?" Jeremy asked her.

"No, Vicki can wait, I need you right now, Jer." Marissa said.

"I'm sorry, Rissa, but I don't have time." Jeremy snapped. "Why don't you run back to Tyler, since that is who you choose." He snapped.

"Jeremy, no-" Marissa tried to say, as Jeremy shut the door in her face.

Marissa laid her hands on the door then rested her forehead on her hands as tears fell down her face. She couldn't believe that Jeremy choose Vicki over her, even though she deserved it for picking Tyler over him, but now she was ready to pick Jeremy, unfortunately she was too late.

Marissa turned around and slowly made her way down the porch stairs then began to run down the sidewalk. She ran to the end of the street before she collapsed on the ground and began to cry.

After a few minutes of crying alone in the dark night, she opened her bag and pulled out her cell phone to call a female she could always count on; her big sister Caroline.

Marissa placed the phone against her ear as it began to ring on the other end, until finally someone answered it, but it wasn't Caroline's voice; it was Elena.

"Elena? Where's Caroline?" Marissa asked.

"Caroline is right here, she's really upset." Elena answered. "Where are you?" She questioned.

"What's wrong? Did something happen, did Damon hurt her?" Marissa asked, as she began to get angry.

"I don't know, she won't say anything." Elena said.

"Let me talk to her." Marissa said.

"Rissa?" Caroline softly asked, when she got on the phone.

"Yeah, Care, It's me. What's wrong?" Marissa asked.

"I-I don't know. I'm so confused, I just want to go home." Caroline cried.

"Get Elena to give you a ride home, I'll meet you there." Marissa said, as she stood up from the ground. Luckily her house wasn't that far from the Gilbert house. She could make it there in a few short minutes.

"Okay." Caroline said. "I love you, sis." She quietly added.

"I love you too, Care, see you soon." Marissa said, as she hung up the phone. She took off her high heel shoes then quickly ran home.

_- (o0o) -  
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A few minutes later, Marissa was pacing across the living room floor as she waited for Caroline to come home. Finally she heard a car door, then the front door opened as Caroline walked in.

Marissa ran across the floor and threw her arms around her sister as they both began to cry, both of their hearts had been broken that night.

"What happened to you?" Caroline asked her sister, after the hug.

"Tyler is a jerk and Jeremy picked Vicki." Marissa said, giving her the short version. "What happened to you?" She questioned.

"You're right, Damon is a creep." Caroline answered.

"What did he do?" Marissa asked, feeling angry again.

Caroline took a deep breath as she removed the scarf from around her neck. Marissa gasped in surprised when she saw the bite mark on her neck.

"He did that to you?" Marissa asked, shaking in anger.

"That's not all." Caroline said, as she pulled off the shawl she was wearing to show her the marks on her back.

"I am going to kill him." Marissa snapped. "I know he's older and stronger than me, but I swear I will make him pay."

"Please don't say anything, I wasn't suppose to tell anyone." Caroline begged.

"No screw that, Care, he hurt you." Marissa called out, as she grabbed Caroline's bag then pulled out her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked.

"Having a little talk with that creep." Marissa answered, as she scrolled through Caroline's contacts until she found Damon's name.

Marissa hit the talk button, then placed the phone to her ear as it began to ring. When Damon's voice mail began she waited until the beep, before saying,"You listen here you, asshole, if you _ever _come near my sister again, I promise you, you will regret it. There is something seriously wrong with you. You stay away from us or I will go straight to our mother, the sheriff. You got it? Stay away!"

Marissa ended the call then tossed the phone on to the couch. She looked at Caroline, as she said,"If he tries to call you, ignore him, okay?"

"Okay." Caroline said. "God, this night turned out to be the worse night ever."

"You're telling me." Marissa mumbled.

"You know what we need." Caroline said.

"What?" Marissa asked.

"We need to do what we use to do as kids. Grab all the junk food we could find, then lay in bed all night." Caroline said. "I could really use some sister time." She softly added.

"So could I." Marissa said with a small smile.

Minutes later, after changing out of their party dresses and into a pair of comfy pajamas, the two sisters were laying in Caroline's bed with different candy bars and bags of chips laying all over the bed. Caroline popped a potato chip in her mouth, then sat the bag down to lay back against the headboard beside Marissa.

She laid her head on top of Marissa's, then said,"I'm sorry you had a bad night."

"I'm sorry you had a bad night too." Marissa said back.

"At least we have each other." Caroline said with a small smile.

"Yep, we're the Forbes sisters, we break hearts..."

"We don't get our hearts broken." Caroline finished.

Marissa wrapped an arm around Caroline then closed her eyes. Even though she was hurting, she was glad to have her sister to lean on, as long as they were together, things will be okay or at least she hoped so.

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_a/n - hey all, I hope you liked the new chapter. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, DamnWhoopsIMeantDamon, VervainHearts, ArtemisLuna85 and Emmettluver2010 for reviewing the last chapter. Thank you and happy reading =)  
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	8. You're Undead To Me

**You're Undead To Me**

The next morning, Marissa stretched her arms above her head and yawned as she slowly began to wake up. She opened her eyes and looked at Caroline's ceiling in confusion, until the night before came back to her.

She suddenly remember everything; Tyler being a jerk, Jeremy choosing Vicki, finding out Damon was abusing Caroline and lastly she and Caroline laying in her bed eating junk food and crying together until they fell asleep.

Marissa rolled over from her back to her side and saw Caroline sleeping peacefully beside her. She smiled at her sister as she slowly sat up and ran a hand through her blonde hair, pulling a potato chip from it, causing her to quietly chuckle to herself.

"Oh, God, I think I'm about to slip into a sugar coma." Caroline moaned, as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Well, we did eat a lot of sweet last night." Marissa stated, as she pulled a candy bar wrapping paper from Caroline's hair.

"That is true, but like I always say, chocolate cures everything, even a broken heart." Caroline said with a small smile, as she sat up in bed.

Before Marissa could comment, they heard the doorbell ring through out the quiet house. The sisters look at each other in confusion before Caroline spoke up.

"Who could that be at..." Caroline began to say. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, as she continued,"Eight in the morning on a Monday?"

"I dunno, but all I can say is, I'm glad school is out today." Marissa said, as she laid back on the bed. _'Thank God for teacher work days' _She thought to herself.

"Think if we ignore it whoever it is will go away?" Caroline asked, right when the doorbell went off again.

"I'm going to guess no." Marissa said with a laugh.

"I guess the question now is, who's going to answer it?" Caroline asked, right as Marissa called out,"Not it."

"Damn it." Caroline mumbled, as she stood up from her bed and made her way toward the front door to see who was ringing their doorbell so early in the morning.

She felt anger over take her body when she saw it was Tyler standing on the other side, Marissa had filled her in on all the things he said to his friend the night before and she couldn't believe he had the nerve to show up at their door.

"Hey, Caroline." Tyler said with a kind smile, as soon as she opened the door.

"Don't, '_hey Caroline_', me." Caroline snapped, as she stepped out on the porch and shut the door. She didn't want Marissa to overhear their conversation.

"Whoa, why are you pissed at me? Did I do something?" Tyler asked confused. He had no idea Marissa had overheard him at the party.

"I don't know, Tyler, did you do something?" Caroline angrily asked.

"I don't think so, but by the tone of your voice, I'm going to say I did." Tyler said. "So what did I do that pissed you off so much? Was it cause I took Rissa to the party?" He guessed, trying to figure out what he did to piss her off.

"No, it's what you did at the party, you ass." Caroline said.

"What did I do?" Tyler asked, getting angry. He didn't understand anything. He thought he and Marissa were having a good time, then when he went to look for her she was nowhere to be found and now he had Caroline yelling at him, when all he wanted to do was check on Marissa.

"What are you even doing here, Tyler?" Caroline snapped, as she folded her arms across her chest. "Are you here for seconds, thirds or fourths?" She sarcastically added.

Tyler looked at her in confusion until it hit him, the conversation he had with Brad last night, he knew in that moment what was wrong; Marissa had overheard him.

"Shit." Tyler mumbled to himself, as he ran a hand over his hair.

"Yeah, that's right, you've been busted, jerk." Caroline said. "Rissa knows the truth now and she doesn't want to talk to you ever again."

"Wait, Caroline, you have to let me talk to her. I can explain everything." Tyler pleaded with her.

"It's a little too late to explain. She's not falling for your fake charm anymore." Caroline said. "Now get off our porch or I'm grabbing my pom-poms." She warned.

"Fine, just tell Rissa I'm sorry." Tyler sincerely said, hoping to get through to Caroline.

"No and stay away from my sister." Caroline yelled.

Tyler sighed in frustration but didn't say anything else, as he turned around and walked away, almost bumping into Bonnie; who was walking up to the house holding a plastic bag.

"What was that about?" Bonnie asked in surprise, after Tyler left.

"Long story." Caroline answered with a sigh.

"Does it have to do with why Rissa was so upset last night?" Bonnie asked, as she remembered how upset the younger girl was the night before. All she could say was a few words before sobbing. All Bonnie could figure out was Tyler did something to upset her.

"Yep, he is exactly why she was upset. Stupid jerk." Caroline said. "Well him and surprisingly Jeremy too."

"Well, I guess it's good I came by." Bonnie said smiling, as she reached into the bag and pulled out a box of cake mix.

"Yes, cake is exactly what we need." Caroline said smiling back.

"I thought so." Bonnie said, as she handed Caroline the box of mix.

"Devil's food?" Caroline asked, as she read the type of cake it was.

"Well I figured you dated the devil, so now you can eat it." Bonnie said laughing. "Sorry it sounded funnier in my head."

"It's perfect." Caroline said laughing back. "Come in, let's get started."

As the two friends walked into the house, Marissa walked into the living room and smiled when she saw Bonnie.

"Hey Bon, so I guess it was you at our door at eight in the morning." Marissa joked.

"Yep, it was Bonnie, just Bonnie." Caroline lied. She hated to lie to her sister, but she didn't want her to know that Tyler dropped by wanting to charm her again. She wasn't sure if her baby sister could resist him

Bonnie looked over at Caroline with a confused expression on her face, she couldn't believe she had just lied to her sister, but Bonnie figured she had a good reason and wasn't going to get involved.

"I brought us a cake to make." Bonnie said smiling.

"Yum, cake." Marissa said, as she pulled her blonde hair up in a high ponytail.

"We can make the cake, but there will be no talking about boys." Caroline told the two girls.

"Sounds good to me." Marissa said, as Bonnie nodded her head in agreement.

A few minutes later, the three girls were standing in the kitchen. Marissa was in charge of getting the ingredients they needed, as Caroline stirred up the batter. Once done, Bonnie poured the mix into a baking pan and placed it in the oven.

As the cake baked, the girls stood around in the kitchen and waited. Marissa ran her finger in the empty bowl to grab some raw batter and placed it in her mouth as Caroline spoke up.

"Okay, I know we have a '_talk about no boys_' pact, but I just have to say, I hate Damon." Caroline said.

"Finally!" Marissa exclaimed. "It's about time you got on the '_I hate Damon_' train."

Bonnie chuckled at the younger girl's comment, then looked at Caroline and asked,"What do you remember from last night?"

"I remember the party. Damon came up behind me, and he was kissing my neck, or biting my neck. I passed out. It's like there are holes in my memory lately. It's just weird." Caroline explained. "Maybe I let him bite me." She softly added.

"Why would you do that?" Bonnie asked. She didn't believe for one second that Caroline would just let him bite her.

"You wouldn't do that." Marissa answered for her sister. "Damon did something to you, maybe he slip you a drug or something."

"Okay, I changed my mind. I don't want to talk about this anymore." Caroline said with a sigh.

"If that's what you want." Marissa said, the last thing she wanted to do was push her sister.

"Let's talk about you? What all happened last night?" Bonnie asked, as she looked over at Marissa.

"Ugh, do we have to talk about me." Marissa groaned. "I thought we made a '_no talk about boys_' pact."

"We did, but Caroline broke it, so it's your turn." Bonnie said with a smile.

"Okay, fine." Marissa said, then quickly explained everything that had recently happen to Bonnie. Everything from her big crush on Tyler, to him beginning to pay attention to her, to him asking her out, to overhearing him being a jerk, to running to Jeremy and beginning to think he's the one for her and lastly seeing Jeremy with Vicki before getting a door slammed in her face.

"Wow, that is a lot of drama." Bonnie said, after Marissa was finished with her story.

"If you want my opinion, I say forget Tyler and go after Jeremy." Caroline said to her sister.

"But I don't know what I really feel for Jeremy, I mean I think I like him, but I'm not sure." Marissa tried to explain. "Besides, he's with Vicki now, remember?" She added, sadly.

"So? We all know deep down you are the one Jeremy wants. If you just tell him that, he will dump Vicki in a heartbeat." Caroline said.

"But I told you I'm not sure and I don't want to lead him on." Marissa said. If what everyone says is true and he did love her, the last thing she wanted to do was make him think she felt something just to get rid of Vicki.

"It would be best to make sure before you say anything." Bonnie added.

"Okay, let's think about this." Caroline said. "What do you feel when you think of Tyler?" She asked.

"I feel angry at him, but I still like him." Marissa sadly said.

Caroline tried hard not to comment, instead she asked,"Okay, now what do you feel when you think of Jeremy?"

Marissa smiled, then said,"He's my best friend and I care about him. I remember all the fun times we had and all the times he was there for me, I just don't want to mess any of that up."

"What if nothing did get messed up?" Bonnie questioned.

"Exactly, what if everything turned out amazing. What if you get everything you would hope for?" Caroline asked her sister.

Marissa looked down at the counter as she thought about what Caroline and Bonnie said, but before she could go to deep in thought, the doorbell rang, pulling her from her thoughts.

Caroline and Marissa looked at each other, neither one wanted to answer the door. Finally Bonnie spoke up,"I'll get it."

"Ugh, if that is Damon, tell him to go to hell." Caroline called out.

"And if it's Tyler or Jeremy, tell them I moved or something." Marissa added.

"So if it's any guy, just tell him to get lost?" Bonnie joked.

"Yes, do that." Caroline called out, as Bonnie walked over to the front door.

Bonnie returned a few minutes later, with Elena walking behind her. Caroline and Marissa breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't anyone they didn't want to see.

"Hey, is this where the '_we hate men_' club is meeting?" Elena joked.

"Yep, welcome to the club." Caroline said smiling.

"Thank you and good news, I brought ice cream." Elena said smiling, as she sat down a carton of vanilla ice cream.

"Just in time." Bonnie said, as she took the cake pan out of the oven.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After the cake was finished, the four girls sat around the living room, eating cake and ice cream and having a lot of girl talk.

Once they were done, Marissa stood up from the couch and grabbed the plates then walked into the kitchen as Caroline told Bonnie and Elena a funny story, causing both girls to laugh.

Marissa would have laughed along, but she had to o much on her mind as she walked over to the sink and sat the plates down on the counter.

"Hey." Elena softly said, as she walked up behind the younger girl.

"Hi." Marissa said back.

"How are you?" Elena asked with a concern look on her face.

"I honestly don't know." Marissa answered with a sigh. "I don't know what I want, Elena."

Elena stepped forward and hugged her as she said,"I'm sorry, Rissa. When Jeremy showed up last night, I had really hoped you two would leave the party together, not him and Vicki."

"Wait, what?" Marissa said, as she took a step back to look at Elena. "Jeremy was at the party last night?"

"Yes." Elena slowly answered, unsure if she should have told her or not.

"When? I never saw him." Marissa asked surprised.

"He just showed up in the middle of it, but didn't stay long." Elena said, leaving out that he saw her dancing with Tyler.

"And then he left with Vicki? I never knew Vicki was there either." Marissa said, as she looked down at the kitchen floor with a sad look on her face.

The only reason she could think that Jeremy would show up, was for Vicki, she must have asked him to meet her there. Which meant Jeremy was never thinking about her, like she had been thinking about him. Once again he was only thinking about Vicki and went after her, like she had told him to do when she left him a message.

"I guess he was there for Vicki." Marissa softly said.

Elena opened her mouth to correct her. She could see that the younger girl had everything all wrong and she was going to tell her the truth, that Jeremy showed up for her then left with Vicki cause he was jealous, but before she could Caroline and Bonnie walked into the kitchen, interrupting them.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten all of that cake." Caroline groaned, as she leaned against the counter. "Plus we have that sexy suds car wash tomorrow." She added.

"I forgot all about that." Elena said.

"Well you better remember, cause you two said you would help." Caroline said, as she looked at Elena and Bonnie.

"Don't worry, Care, we will be there." Bonnie promised.

"Speaking of helping.." Caroline began to say. She turned to look at her sister, as she continued, "We could use more help, what do you say?"

"Let me think about it... no." Marissa answered.

"Please, Rissa, we need all the help we can get and you look hot in a bikini which is what we need." Caroline said. She thought for a moment, then added, "Besides it would be good for you to get out, if you stay stuck in your room, then Tyler won."

Marissa thought about what her sister said and she was right. If she stayed in her room, crying then Tyler won. Maybe it would be best to show up and act like she didn't care, like it didn't bother her.

"Okay, I'll do it, but I'm not wearing a bikini." Marissa stated.

"But you have to, that's the whole point of a sexy studs car wash." Caroline pointed out.

"You can be sexy without a bikini." Bonnie spoke up.

"Okay, how about you wear a tank top over your bikini?" Caroline suggested to her sister.

"That would work." Marissa said.

"Awesome, this is going to be so much fun." Caroline squealed as she clapped her hands happily.

"If you say so." Elena mumbled, she like Marissa, was not looking forward to the car wash.

"It will be, just wait and see." Caroline said smiling.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

The next day, after successfully avoided both Jeremy and Tyler during school, after school Marissa went into one of the girl's bathrooms to change out of her school clothes and into a green bikini, short white lounge shorts and a loose fitted black tank top.

Once she was done she walked out to the school parking lot to meet Caroline and the others who were doing the car wash.

Marissa smiled when she saw Elena and Stefan talking. She had heard from Caroline that Elena and Stefan had made-up when he had made her dinner the night before, which made her happy for her friend. She had a feeling that Stefan would be good for Elena.

"Hey." Marissa said, as she walked up to the happy couple.

"Hey." Elena said back, as she hugged Marissa.

"The event is called sexy suds, you know. " Caroline said, as she walked up and looked at Stefan and Elena; who were both wearing shirts.

"Sorry." Elena mumbled.

"Come on, Rissa, the first car pulled up and you can work on that." Caroline said, as she lightly grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her over to a small white car.

Caroline handed her sister a bucket full of soapy water and a sponge, then said,"Here you go, have fun."

"Wait, where are you going?" Marissa asked.

"I've got to handle the money." Caroline answered.

"Well, who's going to help me." Marissa whined.

"I'll help you." Bonnie said, as she walked over to the sisters.

"Thanks, Bon." Marissa said with a grateful smile.

"Now that is solved, you two have fun, but remember be sexy." Caroline said, as she walked off.

After quickly spraying the car with water, Marissa dipped the sponge in the bucket then began to wash the hood of the car. She and Bonnie worked in silence for a few minutes until Marissa spoke up.

"Ugh, this is going to take forever." Marissa groaned.

Bonnie nodded her head in agreement, then looked off to the side and saw another cheerleader finished up with a car, she called out to her.

"Hey, Tiki, can you help us with this car?" Bonnie asked the attractive dark-skinned girl.

Tiki rolled her eyes then walked over to them. She grabbed a sponge and began to help wash the back end of the car.

Tiki looked over at Marissa, then asked,"Hey, you're Caroline's sister, right? I've seen you at some of the games."

"Yeah, that's me." Marissa said with a polite. "My name's Marissa."

"Right, you're also the girl who went to the Founder's Party with Tyler Lockwood." Tiki added.

"Yeah." Marissa answered with a sigh.

"So how was it?" Tiki asked her.

"The party was okay." Marissa answered with a shrug.

"No I mean, how was it? You know, is Tyler as good in the bed as he is on the field?" Tiki asked with a smirk.

"I wouldn't know." Marissa answered, as she lowered her head and continued to wash the car. She was trying hard not to get upset or angry, it wasn't Tiki's fault that Tyler lied.

"Oh, come on, don't be shy." Tiki said. "Everyone knows you two were hooking out."

"Tiki!" Bonnie called out in warning, she could tell Marissa was getting upset.

"What?" Tiki asked innocently. "There's nothing wrong with it, Tyler is hot." She added.

"They did not sleep together." Bonnie said, taking up for Marissa.

"That's not what everyone in school is saying." Tiki said with a shrug.

"I'll be right back." Marissa mumbled, as she tossed the sponge into the bucket and quickly walked away. Bonnie watched Marissa walk toward the school building, then she turned to look at Tiki and shot her a dirty look.

"What?" Tiki asked Bonnie. "I was just asking what every girl is wondering."

"You don't have to be rude." Bonnie snapped.

"I wasn't. Besides I don't even know what Tyler sees in her anyways. She's not that pretty." Tiki said, as she bent down to dip her sponge in the bucket.

Bonnie stared hard at the bucket as she felt anger over taking her. She jumped back in surprise when the water splashed up and soaked Tiki, causing her to cry out. Bonnie's eyes widened in surprise when she saw what she did before quickly walking away.

After leaving the car wash, Marissa ran into the school building and went into the first girl's restroom she saw. She walked over to the mirror and laid her hands on the sink, as she tried to control her emotions.

She turned her head in surprise when the restroom door opened and Tyler walked inside, he looked at her and took a small step toward her.

"Tyler? What are you doing in here?" Marissa asked.

"I saw you leaving the parking lot and I followed you." Tyler answered. When he saw the sad look on her face, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"None of your business." Marissa snapped, as she went to walk by him.

Tyler lightly grabbed her arm to stop her, then said,"Don't leave, just talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to you, Tyler, just leave me alone." Marissa cried, as she pulled her arm away and walked out of the bathroom.

Marissa left the building and made her way back over to the parking lot. She glanced around looking for her sister but didn't see her, instead she saw Elena; who was watching over the money.

"Hey, have you seen Caroline?" Marissa asked, as she walked over to Elena.

"No, she went to go get more towels awhile ago." Elena said.

"Well when she gets back, could you tell her I went home, I'm not feeling so good." Marissa said.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked with a concern look on her face.

"I will be, it's just too soon, you know?" Marissa explained.

Elena saw Tyler walking toward the parking lot. He glanced over at Marissa with a depressed look on his face before he walked over to a car and began to wash it.

Elena looked back at Marissa and nodded her head, as she said, "Yeah I understand, I'll tell Caroline."

"Thanks." Marissa softly said.

"Do you need a ride home? I think Jenna is about to leave." Elena suggested.

"That would be great, thanks." Marissa answered.

"It's no problem." Elena said, as she wrapped an arm around Marissa's shoulder and walked with her over to Jenna; who was happy to give the young teen a ride home.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After making it home, Marissa took a long hot shower, then changed into a pair of her favorite pajama bottoms and a tank top, before making her way into her bedroom.

She sat down on her bed with a sigh as she glanced around the room. She felt tears in her eyes when her eyes landed on her wall of pictures. She had tons of pictures taped to the wall of all the people she loved.

There were some of her and Caroline, some of her, Caroline, Bonnie and Elena, there was even one or two of her and her mom, but mainly they were pictures of her and Jeremy. Pictures from when they were babies up until about a week ago.

Marissa stood up from her bed and walked over to the wall as she stared at the pictures of her and Jeremy. Through every good or bad day in her life, he had been there. He had always been her protector, her rock, her everything. Even now, he was the only one she wanted to talk to and she suddenly realized she missed him.

She took a few steps toward her desk and grabbed her cell phone to quickly call him before she changed her mind. She just needed to hear his voice. Needed to hear him say everything would be okay.

_'Hello?' _Jeremy said, as he answered the call.

"Hey, Jer." Marissa said softly.

_"Hey, everything okay?" _Jeremy questioned. He didn't miss the sad tone in her voice, he could always tell when she was upset.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out or something?" Marissa suggested.

_"What is lover boy busy or something?' _Jeremy angrily asked.

"Jeremy-" Marissa said with a sigh.

_"Sorry but I can't hang today." _Jeremy said interrupting her. "_I'm a little busy."_

"Let me guess, you and Vicki are smoking it up somewhere lame." Marissa bitterly said.

_"Don't start, okay? We're just hanging out with some of her friends." _Jeremy said.

"With her drug buddies you mean." Marissa angrily stated.

_"Look, I got to go. I'm going to hang out with someone who actually wants to be around me instead of a dick." _Jeremy snapped, as he ended the call.

Marissa sighed as she sat the phone back down on her desk. She hated how lately, anytime she and Jeremy talked, it ended in a fight.

She looked down at her phone and debated about calling him again, to apologize but before she could, she heard a noise coming from near by; it sounded like a pebble hitting a window.

She walked over to her window and glanced outside to see Tyler throwing small rocks at the bedroom beside hers; which happened to be Caroline's room.

Marissa sighed in frustration as she walked out of her bedroom and toward the front door. She made her way outside then over to the side of the house.

"Caroline's not home." Marissa angrily said, as she stood behind Tyler.

Tyler turned around in surprise, a confused look on his face, as he mumbled out,"What?"

"I said, Caroline is not home, that's her window." Marissa stated, as she turned around and walked back toward the front of the house.

"Rissa, wait, look, just hear me out." Tyler called out, as he ran behind her.

Tyler lightly grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away, without turning around, she said,"I think I heard enough from you last night."

"Look, that's what I wanted to talk about, okay?" Tyler said. He waited for her to turn around before adding,"I'm sorry, I really am, you were not suppose to hear that."

"Clearly." Marissa said sarcastically.

"And I never should have said the things that I did." Tyler added.

"Then why did you? Why did you lie and say we had sex or that you were only after me for sex?" Marissa asked him.

"Because I'm a dick." Tyler said.

"Yeah, you are and we're done here." Marissa said, as she turned to walk away again.

"Wait, just... please hold on." Tyler called out.

"What?" Marissa asked with a sigh.

"Look, I know it's dumb, but my reputation is all I have and yes I did tell Brad I was just trying to nail you and yes it was wrong." Tyler began to explain.

"You're damn right it was wrong." Marissa said interrupting him. "I thought you.. I thought..."

"You thought what?" Tyler asked, as he cautiously took a step toward her.

"I thought you might actually like me." Marissa shyly admitted. She scoffed before bitterly adding,"But stupid me I guess for even thinking that."

"No it wasn't stupid." Tyler said. "I was stupid for what I said, for what I did. It's just Brad kept bugging me about us and so I just told him what he wanted to hear to shut him up, but I never should have said that and I'll tell him the truth. Hell I'll tell everyone the truth."

"And what is the truth, Tyler?" Marissa asked.

"The truth is, I like you, Rissa." Tyler said, as he reached out and lightly grabbed her hand. "The more time I spent with you and the more I got to know you, the more I started to like you."

Marissa looked at him and couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was the moment she had waited for, the moment she had dreamed about, but now that it was here, she wasn't sure what to feel anymore.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise when Tyler began to lean toward her, his lips were inches from hers when she took a step back.

"Tyler... I-" Marissa began to say.

"Hey, it's fine." Tyler said interrupting her. He tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal, but deep down he was confused. He was sure she liked him back and couldn't believe he was wrong.

"It's just... I don't know." Marissa said with a sigh.

"You don't know what?" Tyler asked confused.

"You have no idea how long I have liked you or how long I have been waiting for this moment, but I-I don't know what I want anymore." Marissa said, trying her best to explain her feelings.

"Is this about Gilbert?" Tyler harshly asked.

Marissa looked down at the ground and wasn't sure how to answer, cause she wasn't sure how she felt when it came to Jeremy. But her silence was enough of an answer for Tyler.

"Wow, you're just going after all of Vicki's guys, huh?" Tyler bitterly said.

Marissa scoffed at his comment, then said,"Screw you, Tyler."

Tyler didn't say anything as he watched her turn around and walk inside the house. The minute that comment left his lips, he regretted it.

He didn't mean to take his anger out on her, but he couldn't help but be pissed. For one of the first times in his life, he really put himself out there to a girl and got shot down. He didn't know how to handle that and as much as he didn't want to leave things the way they were with Marissa, he knew it was best to let her go for now. The last thing he wanted to do was make her madder at him then she already was.

After walking inside the house, Marissa leaned against the front door as tears fell from her eyes. When she heard Tyler get in his car and drive away, she slid down to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest.

She rested her chin on her knees as she continued to cry. She couldn't understand how things had gotten so complicated. She wished she could go back to just a couple of weeks ago, back when Jeremy was just her best friend and Tyler was just a secret crush that no one knew about.

Back before she was confused about her feelings for the two boys, back when things made sense.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

Marissa wasn't sure how long she had sat at the door crying, when she felt the door open and hit her back. She quickly stood up to turn around and saw Caroline walk into the house.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are you sitting at the door, is everything okay?" Caroline asked, with a concern expression on her face.

Marissa didn't say anything, as she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her sister and began to sob out loud. Caroline, unsure about what was going on, just wrapped her arms tight around her sister and held her until the tears were gone.

Once Marissa began to calm down, Caroline pushed her back a little to look at her, as she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Marissa cried.

"Okay, just take a deep breath and tell me what happened." Caroline calmly said, as she grabbed her sister's hand and led her over to the couch.

As the sisters sat down, Marissa filled her sister in on what happened; about the rumor going around, Jeremy hanging up on her and Tyler coming by.

"I'm sorry, sis, I never should have asked you to help out at the car wash and I should have been here so you didn't have to even talk to Tyler." Caroline apologized.

"Where were you anyway?" Marissa asked confused.

"I was getting more towels." Caroline answered.

"And it took you this long?"

"I don't know why it took me so long, but it did." Caroline said with a confused expression on her face. The last thing she remember was walking down the hall to grab the towels then she was outside the Salvatore house.

She still wasn't sure why she was even there, but she felt like someone had called to her; someone wanted her there, but she wasn't sure who or why.

Before Marissa could say anything else, the doorbell rang, causing her to sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with anyone else tonight.

Marissa got up from the couch and walked over to the front door. She wasn't surprised when she opened the door and saw Jeremy on the other side.

"I'm not in the mood right now for another fight, Jer." Marissa said.

"I'm not here to fight, I just need my friend." Jeremy softly admitted.

Marissa turned her head to look at her sister, Caroline smiled and whispered,"Go talk to him."

"Let's talk outside." Marissa said, as she walked out on to the porch then shut the front door.

"I'm sorry, Ris, about everything. The way I've been treating you since you told me about your date with Tyler. I mean, I knew it would happen one day, but I just wasn't prepared for it." Jeremy explained.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, the date didn't go well." Marissa said with sad smile.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy said.

"No, you're not." Marissa said with a small laugh.

"Yes I am." Jeremy said, as he grabbed her hand. "I might not like the idea of you two together, but I want you to be happy, Rissa, even if it's with him."

"I want you to be happy too, Jer, even if it's with Vicki." Marissa said sincerely.

"Yeah, well, I don't think that's going to work out." Jeremy admitted.

"Why, what happened?" Marissa asked. She couldn't help but be a little happy at hearing that, even if it did make her feel like a bad friend.

"We went to the cemetery today, to hang out with her friends. They're nothing but a bunch of small-town lifers and when I tried to explain that to her, she flipped out. She thinks I'm just acting out because of mom and dad and when I get over it, I'll get over her and move on with my life."

"I'm sorry, Jer."

"No, you're not." Jeremy said back to her what she said earlier, as he chuckled.

"Okay, maybe I'm not." Marissa said, as she laughed back. "But it's just cause I think you can do better than Vicki."

"I dunno, maybe you're right." Jeremy said, as he looked down at the ground.

"I am right, you shouldn't be with Vicki, you should be with someone else. Someone who will love you just the way you are, Jeremy, and not use you for pills or drugs." Marissa said, as she looked at him.

"Like who? Who should I be with then, Rissa?" Jeremy questioned. He was hoping she would say her, but he didn't want to get his hopes up.

"I don't know, just some other girl." Rissa answered. She gave a small shrug, as she quietly added, "Who knows, maybe the girl is right in front of you, Jeremy."

"What are you saying, Rissa?" Jeremy asked, as he took a step closer to her.

"I-I don't know, maybe you should be with someone like-"

"Like who?" Jeremy asked, as he took another step and stood in front of her.

Instead of answering, Marissa lowered her head to avoid his eyes. Jeremy placed a finger under her chin and raise her head, forcing her to look at him as he searched her face for an answer and he was hoping it was the answer he was looking for.

"Who should I be with?" Jeremy asked her again.

Marissa looked into his eyes and bit her bottom lip as she debated on if she should tell him about the things she had been feeling lately. Should she risk their friendship and be honest or keep her mouth shut, she just wasn't sure.

Luckily for her, Jeremy's cell phone began to ring. He sighed in frustration as he took a few steps away from her while he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

_"Jeremy, where are you?"_ Elena asked, as soon as he answered.

"I'm at Rissa's, why?" Jeremy asked.

_"I need you to come home."_ Elena said to him, as she tried not to let her fear show. She was pretty sure she had finally figured out Stefan's big secret, but until she knew anything for sure, she didn't want to say anything to scare Jeremy, instead she just wanted him home so he would be safe.

"Why?" Jeremy asked confused.

_"I just.. with all the animal attacks lately, I would just feel better if you were home."_ Elena explained, giving him half of the truth.

"I don't think a big animal is going to run up Rissa's porch and attack us." Jeremy joked.

_"Please Jeremy, just come home." _Elena begged.

"Fine, I'll be there soon." Jeremy said with a sigh, as he ended the call.

"Everything okay?" Marissa asked him.

"Yeah, Elena is just freaking out about the animal attacks." Jeremy explained.

"I thought they caught the animal." Marissa said.

"I know, but you know how Elena is." Jeremy said with a laugh.

"Yeah." Marissa agreed laughing.

"So, what do you say about you and me hanging out tomorrow, like old times?" Jeremy suggested.

"I say, I would love to. I think it's what we both need." Marissa said smiling.

Jeremy walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head, then whispered,"I missed you, Ris."

"I missed you too, Jer." Marissa whispered back.

"See you tomorrow." Jeremy said with a smile, as he turned around and walked down the porch steps and then out of sight.

Marissa smiled as she watched him leave. Things might not be back to what they were before, but at least she had her friend back. She could only hope that things would continue to get better from this point on.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

_a/n - hey all, I hope you enjoyed this episode/chapter. I'm thinking the next two episodes I will combine them, cause there isn't many scenes I can put Rissa in, since this is around the time that Elena finds out about vampires, but since I'm not ready for Rissa to find out yet, she will be left out of a lot of scenes. Anyway once again, hope you all enjoyed this. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, ForeverQueenofDarkness, Emmettluver2010, Writteninthestars08, DamnWhoopsIMeantDamon and Sage Londyn for reviewing the last chapter. Happy Reading =)_


	9. Lost Girls:Haunted

**Lost Girls | Haunted**

Marissa tossed in turned in her bed, but no matter which way she laid she just couldn't get comfortable or fall asleep. She finally rolled from her side to her back and stared at her ceiling for a few minutes before turning her head to look at the clock to see it was a little after two in the morning.

She sighed as she turned her head to look back at her ceiling. She knew why she couldn't sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about Jeremy. She couldn't stop seeing his face so close to hers earlier tonight when they had talked on her porch. She couldn't help but wonder if he was about to kiss her before Elena called him to come home.

After realizing sleep wasn't going to come to her, she sat up in bed and decided to do something she hadn't done in a while; sneak over to Jeremy's house and wake him up.

Going to each others house in the middle of the night was something they use to always do. Before her parents divorced; anytime they would start to fight, she would sneak over to Jeremy's house. Anytime Jeremy had a bad nightmare or just needed her; he would sneak over to her house.

Every year for their birthdays, they would sneak over to each others house to wake the other up right at midnight. They always loved being the first one to tell the other happy birthday and give them their first was their thing and she loved it.

She smiled when she thought back to her last birthday, when Jeremy woke her up and gave her the necklace that was around her neck.

_- Flashback -  
><em>

_"Psst Rissa... Rissa wake up." Jeremy whispered, as he sat on the edge of her bed. _

_When that didn't wake her up, he gently shook her shoulder, as he said,"Rissa, get up."_

_"Jeremy?" Marissa said while yawning. She sat up in bed then whispered,"What time is it?"_

_"It's a little after midnight, birthday girl." Jeremy answered smiling. _

_"Already?" Marissa asked, as she yawned again. She felt like she had just fallen asleep and now here was Jeremy waking her up for her birthday. _

_"Yep, happy birthday, Rissa." Jeremy said smiling at his friend. _

_"Thank you." Marissa said smiling back. She held out her hands, as she added,"Now, what did you get me?" _

_"I thought we weren't doing presents this year." Jeremy said, playing dumb. _

_"When did I ever say I don't want present? You know I love presents, so gimme, gimme." Marissa said, as she continued to hold her hands out. _

_"Yeah, should have known that joke wouldn't work on you." Jeremy said, laughing. He reached into his pocket and brought out a small box with colorful wrapping paper and a white bow wrapped around it. _

_"Here you go." Jeremy said, as he handed her the box._

_"What is it?" Marissa asked, as she gently shook the box. _

_"Open it and see, you goof." Jeremy said laughing. _

_Marissa laughed at his comment then slowly began to unwrap the present. While Jeremy like to tear right into his presents to see what he got, she liked to take her time unwrapping the paper careful to not tear it as she opened hers, which drove Jeremy crazy. _

_"Here give it to me." Jeremy said, growing impatient as he grabbed the box from her hands and ripped the paper off. _

_"Hey, it's my birthday, I'm suppose to open the present." Marissa whined. _

_"Well you take too long." Jeremy said, as he pulled off the last bit of paper off then handed the box back to her. _

_"Jerk." Marissa mumbled, as she opened the box. She gasped in surprise when she saw what was inside; it was a silver necklace with a small sterling silver four leaf clover charm._

_"Thank you, Jer, I love it." Marissa said, as she took the necklace from the box to get a better look at it. _

_"Yeah, well, I figured since you are so clumsy, you might need some luck." Jeremy explained with a laugh. _

_"Ha ha. I can't help that walls and things jump out in front of me and attack me." Marissa joked. _

_"Oh and I guess your feet are just conspiring against you every time you trip on them." Jeremy said sarcastically. _

_"Exactly." Marissa said laughing. "But seriously, Jeremy, I really do love it. Thank you." She added._

_"You're welcome, Ris." Jeremy said. He grabbed the necklace from her hand, as he said,"Here let me put it on for you." _

_"Thanks." Marissa said, as she turned around in her bed with her back facing him and pulling her hair up for him to put the necklace on her. _

_"Finished." Jeremy said, after he clipped the necklace. After she turned around he looked at the charm, that was laid flat on her chest a few inches from her breast, then said,"It looks beautiful on you."_

_"Thank you again ,Jer." Marissa said, as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "This has been the best birthday."_

_- End Flashback -  
><em>

Marissa stood up from the bed and walked over to her closet to grab some clothes for school in the morning, then tossed them into her black shoulder bag that held her school books before walking out of her bedroom. Luckily her mom was still at work as she quickly left Caroline a note, telling her she was going to Jeremy's house and would get a ride from Elena to school before walking out the front door.

She cut across the back yards of her neighbor's house, taking the same short cut she had for years and quickly made her way to Jeremy's house in a few short minutes.

She walked over to the side of the house that his window was then froze when she saw someone standing in the shadows, staring at the house. She grabbed ahold of her keys and placed one of the keys in between her fingers, with the key pointed out as a weapon as she slowly made her way closer. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was Stefan.

"What are you doing here?" Marissa asked him, with a surprised expression on her face.

"Oh, I.. was.. um..." Stefan stuttered, as he tried to think of an excuse. He couldn't tell the young girl the truth. He couldn't tell her that Damon was out of the cellar and he was afraid he would come after Elena to get back at him for locking him up.

"Just stalking Elena." Marissa finished for him with a laugh.

"Just making sure she's okay." Stefan admitted.

"It's cool, I think it's sweet that you care so much." Marissa told him. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone about your creepy stalking."

"Thanks." Stefan said with a laugh. He nodded his head toward the house, as he questioned, "What are you doing here so late?"

"I'm here to wake up Jeremy." Marissa said. "It's something we have done for years. Anytime one of us needs the other one, we would sneak to their house and wake em up." She explained.

"Oh, I see." Stefan said smiling. Elena had filled him in on some of Marissa and Jeremy's history, he could tell they had the type of friendship that would last forever no matter what. It reminded him of his best friend, Lexi.

"Well, I'm going to head inside." Marissa said, as she pointed toward the house.

"Okay, it was nice talking to you, Marissa." Stefan said with a polite smile.

"Nice talking to you too, Stefan." Marissa said. She paused for a moment, then flashed him a smile, as she added,"Oh, and you can call me Rissa, all my friends do."

"Okay then, Rissa." Stefan said smiling back. "Talk to you later."

"Oh, actually I could use a boost if you don't mind." Marissa said, as she pointed to the small ledge under Jeremy's window. Normally she would climb the tree that was a few windows away then walk over to Jeremy's window, but with Stefan there she figured this way would be faster.

Stefan held out his hands for her to place her foot in, then he lifted her up high as she grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up. She looked down at Stefan and smiled to thank him, then waved bye as she turned around and opened Jeremy's window.

She slowly stepped inside the room and closed the window before making her way toward his bed. The room was pitch dark, but she knew where everything was like the back of her hand.

Marissa sat down on the side of his bed and looked down at him. She could barely see him as he peacefully slept, she almost hated to wake him.

"Jer." Marissa whispered, as she gently shook his shoulder.

"Ris?" Jeremy asked in confusion, as he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Hi." Marissa whispered.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Jeremy asked her.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just needed my friend." Marissa whispered with a small smile on her face.

"Come here." Jeremy whispered, as he scooted back and pulled the blanket up, inviting her to lay down beside him.

Marissa kicked off her shoes then laid down beside him with her back toward him as he covered her up and laid his arm across her waist. He pulled her body closer to his and rested his head near hers on the pillow.

"Night, Ris." Jeremy whispered.

"Nigh,t Jer." Marissa whispered back.

Marissa softly smiled as she rested her hands on his arm that was wrapped around her and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

The next morning, Marissa opened her eyes and came face to face with Jeremy; who was awake and looking at her. He smiled at her and pushed a lock of hair out of her face.

"Hey, you sure everything is okay?" Jeremy asked her.

Marissa nodded her head, then said,"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep and I needed you."

"Well I'm glad you came over." Jeremy said, as he rested his forehead against hers and smiled.

"So am I." Marissa said, smiling back.

They both closed their eyes and stayed quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the stillness together, until Jeremy pulled his head back and said,"Guess we better get up and ready for school."

"Yeah, guess so." Marissa agreed.

"Do you need to borrow something?" Jeremy asked.

"Nope, I brought some clothes." Marissa said, as she sat up and grabbed her bag.

"Alright, you can use my bathroom and I'll use Aunt Jenna's." Jeremy said, as he stood up from the bed to grab some clean clothes.

"Okay, see you soon." Marissa said, as she stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom Jeremy and Elena shared.

After showering and changing into a pair of dark blue jeans and plain white shirt with a black shrug over it. She borrowed Elena's hairdryer to dry her hair out, then pulled her hair back into a low sideways ponytail.

She applied a little bit of make-up before walking back into Jeremy's room, seeing him sitting on the edge of the bed fully dressed and putting on his shoes.

When she walked into the room, Jeremy looked up and opened his mouth to tell her she looked great, but before he could say a word, he heard Jenna downstairs calling for him and telling him breakfast was ready.

"You hungry?" Jeremy asked her.

"Starving." Marissa answered, as she slipped on a pair of white flats.

Jeremy laughed, then said,"Right, I forgot who I was talking to, you are always ready to eat."

"Hey, I'm a growing girl." Marissa shot back.

"Right." Jeremy said laughing again, as he stood up from the bed. He grabbed her hand and began to walk out of his room and downstairs.

"Hey, Aunt Jenna, you might want to set another place at the table, we got a crasher." Jeremy joked, as he and Marissa walked into the kitchen, hand in hand.

"Hey, Rissa, decided to crash here last night, huh?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah, hope that is okay." Marissa said.

"You know you are always welcomed here." Jenna said smiling.

"Where is Elena?" Jeremy asked, when he noticed his sister was not in the kitchen with them.

"She left early this morning, something about meeting Stefan." Jenna answered.

"Wow, those two spend every moment together, huh?" Marissa said laughing.

"That's young love for ya." Jenna said, as she glanced at the two teens standing in front of her.

"I think Stefan is good for Elena, he seems to really care about her." Marissa added, as she thought about how Stefan was outside last night watching over her.

"I think you're right." Jenna said. He handed them two plates of food, as she added,"Alright you two, eat up then I'll give you a ride to school."

"Thanks." The two called out, as they walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Jenna looked over at them one last time before going upstairs and getting dressed.

"Hey, I'll trade you some of my bacon for one of your pancakes." Marissa said to Jeremy.

"How about you just give me your bacon and I'll keep my pancakes, but I'll be your best friend forever." Jeremy joked.

"How is that a fair trade, Jer?" Marissa asked laughing.

"You'll get me in your life forever, that is a very good trade." Jeremy pointed out.

"But I already have you in my life forever." Marissa pointed out.

"Just give me your bacon." Jeremy said laughing, as he reached over to her plate and stole a piece of her bacon.

"Hey, no fair." Marissa called out, as she grabbed one of his pancakes with her fork.

"Oh no, you don't." Jeremy said, as he placed his fork on top of the pancake to keep her from stealing it.

"Fine, I'm taking back my bacon." Marissa said, as she grabbed a piece of bacon from his plate.

"Hey, that was mine." Jeremy called out, as he tried to grab the bacon back, but before he could Marissa popped it in her mouth.

"Yum, Jeremy bacon is really good." Marissa joked.

"That's it, I'm taking all the bacon." Jeremy said, as he grabbed the last two pieces from her plate.

"That is so not fair." Marissa called out.

"That's what you get for stealing, Rissa." Jeremy said laughing.

"I was just taking back what was mine." Marissa said, as she pouted.

"Do not give me that look, Ris, it's not going to work." Jeremy said, as he turned his head to keep from looking at her, as she gave him a sad puppy dog look.

"Please, Jer, can I please have a pancake, please?" Marissa begged.

"Alright fine." Jeremy said, as he picked up a pancake with his fork.

Marissa opened her mouth to thank him, but before she could he shoved the pancake into her mouth.

"Jeremy, that was not funny." Marissa cried out with her mouth full.

"Trust me, it was very funny." Jeremy said, as he popped a piece of bacon into his mouth with a laugh.

Marissa picked up a piece of bacon from his plate and threw it at him, as she said,"I hate you and your bacon."

"Hey, don't waste that." Jeremy called out. "You can hate me all you want, but do not take it out on the bacon." He joked.

Marissa laughed at his comment then tossed another small piece of bacon at him as she continued to laugh along with him.

"Alright, that's enough you two." Jenna said, as she come downstairs. "Time to get you to school."

Marissa groaned as she stood up and said,"Ugh, I hate school."

"Me too, maybe we should just skip today." Jeremy suggested to her, as Jenna walked toward the front door.

"I heard that! There will be no skipping." Jenna called out to the two teens.

"Don't worry, Jenna, we are going to school." Marissa said, as she grabbed Jeremy's arm and pulled him from the table.

"Hold on." Jeremy said, as he leaned down toward the table and shoved the last pancake from his plate into his mouth.

"You are such a pig. Let's go." Marissa said, as she pushed him toward the front door laughing. It felt good to be laughing with Jeremy again, lately all they did was fight. She was glad they could just hang out and joke like they use to.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After Jenna dropped them off at school, the two teens were walking toward the building when they heard someone call out their names. Marissa and Jeremy both glanced over to their right and saw Matt jogging toward them.

"Hey, Rissa, hey, Jeremy." Matt said, as he stood in front of them.

"Hey, Matt, how are you?" Marissa asked with a kind smile. She might not be a fan of Vicki, but she always liked Matt, he had always been a sweet guy.

"I'm okay." Matt answered her. He turned to Jeremy, as he asked, "When was the last time you saw Vicki?"

"Yesterday afternoon." Jeremy answered. "We had went to the cemetery to hang out with some of her friends, when I left she was still there with them, why?"

"She never came home last night, but I guess she probably passed out there." Matt said. "It's no worries, I'm sure she will be home later."

"I hope so." Jeremy said with a worried expression on his face.

"I better get to class, but if you hear from her, let me know, okay?" Matt said, as he walked away from them and headed inside the school.

"You okay, Jer?" Marissa asked him, when she saw the look on his face.

"Yeah, just worried about Vic." Jeremy answered.

"You heard Matt, she's probably just sleeping it off." Marissa said, hoping to ease his fears.

"Yeah, maybe, but I think I'm going to go ask around. Maybe someone saw her or something." Jeremy said.

"You still want me to come over after school? I can help you look for her." Marissa suggested to him.

"Yeah, I'll see you then." Jeremy said, not really listening as he walked off toward the stoner pit to ask everyone if they had seen Vicki lately.

Marissa stood still as she watched Jeremy run off. Seems like he was always leaving her to look for Vicki and she hated it.

She sighed as she glanced around at all the students standing around talking before school started. She took a deep breath and felt her heart began to race when her eyes locked on Tyler; who was talking with a group of his friends but was staring right back at her.

She hated how even after everything he did and said, he could still make her heart race. She couldn't deny that she still liked him, but she wasn't going let him know that.

She rolled her eyes and held her head high as she walked past everyone, including Tyler and his friends as she walked inside the school building to start the school day.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After school, Marissa got Caroline to drop her off at the Gilbert house. Jeremy never showed up for his classes and she was sure it was cause he was out still looking for Vicki.

Marissa walked up on the porch and rang the door bell, within a second the door swung open with Jeremy standing in front of her.

"Oh, hey." Jeremy said, as his face fell.

"Wow, you know how to make a girl feel welcomed." Marissa joked, as she tried not to let it bother her.

"I'm sorry, I just hoped you were Vicki." Jeremy explained. "What are you doing here?" He asked with a confused look, forgetting they had plans.

"I told you I would come by after school and help you look for Vicki." Marissa said to him.

"Right, yeah I remember now, sorry." Jeremy said, as he stepped aside. "Come on in."

Marissa walked into the house then turned to him, as she said,"So I take it no one has heard from her."

"No, I've called everyone I can think of, but no one knows where she is." Jeremy said, as he shut the front door.

"Well where should we look first?" Marissa asked.

Before Jeremy could answer, the door bell rang. He quickly walked to the door and opened it to see Vicki standing in front of him, looking messed up and out of it.

"Vicki!" Jeremy called out, happy to see her.

"Hey. The sun is killing me, my eyes are on fire." Vicki said, as she walked past him into the house.

"Where have you been?" Jeremy asked her with a worried expression on his face.

"It's good. Everything's good." Vicki said, as she wrapped her arms around Jeremy's neck and began to kiss him.

As they continued kiss, Marissa turned her head to the side so she wouldn't have to watch. It bothered her to see them kissing. Besides she knew Jeremy was too nice of a guy to be dating a train-wreck like Vicki.

"Did something happen?" Jeremy asked Vicki after the kiss.

"I'm hungry. What do you got to eat?" Vicki asked, ignoring his question as she took a step away from him and began to walk toward the kitchen.

"You're high? Vicki, it's the middle of the day." Jeremy called out after her.

"Could you just not talk so loud?" Vicki asked. "My head, it hurts. I need quiet."

Jeremy looked at Marissa; who was standing across the room silently watching them. "Hey, call Matt, I'll go take care of her until he gets here." He said to her.

Marissa nodded her head as Jeremy left the room and went to the kitchen with Vicki. She sighed then pulled out her cell phone and quickly call Matt to tell him where Vicki was. He said he would be right there and hung up the phone.

Many minutes later, the doorbell rang again and Marissa walked over to it and answered it. Matt rushed inside the house as he glanced around the room for his sister.

"Where is she?" Matt asked.

"In the kitchen with Jeremy." Marissa answered.

"What is she on?" Matt asked.

"I-I don't know." Marissa stuttered.

Matt quickly walked into the kitchen and saw Vicki sitting on the floor eating with sunglasses on. He kneeled down beside her and removed her glasses to get a good look at her. Marissa stood in the doorway and watched as Matt began to talk to his sister.

"Hey, Vic. How you doing?" Matt asked her.

"Not good, Mattie. I hurt." Vicki whined.

"Okay, where's it hurt?" Matt asked, as he looked her over, but didn't notice any cuts or bruises so he couldn't see where she would be hurting.

"My gums. My jaw hurts." Vicki said, as she placed her fingers in her mouth and pushed against her gums. "My gum, there's something in my gums, and it hurts." She cried out.

"Okay, well.." Matt began to say, as he reached out to her.

"No. Just leave me alone." Vicki yelled out, as she tried to back away from him.

"Come on, Vic. Don't be like that. Let's get you home." Matt softly said.

"Just turn it off." Vicki called out.

"Turn what off?" Jeremy asked confused.

"The talking, the chatter, just turn it off." Vicki yelled, as she stood up and made her way toward the living room. Bumping into Marissa as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Ouch." Marissa mumbled, as she rubbed her shoulder.

"You okay?" Jeremy softly asked, as he walked by her and lightly rubbed her shoulder.

"She's fine." Vicki angrily snapped. "She's just looking for attention like always."

Vicki and Matt turned around toward the tv, as a reporter outside the cemetery was talking. Jeremy grabbed Marissa's hand and walked into the living room as they all looked at the tv. Jeremy grabbed the remote with his free hand and turned the volume up for them to hear better.

_"...horribly. 3 bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery."_ The reporter said, causing Vicki to tear up as she watched.

"That's where we were last night." Jeremy said in shock.

"What happened, Vic?" Matt asked, as he looked over at his sister.

They all turned to look at the tv as the reporter continued,_"..homicide, and are fast under way looking for suspects. They're asking anyone with information... "_

"I'm calling the cops." Matt said, as he went to reach for a phone.

"No, don't." Vicki called out, as she grabbed his arm to stop him.

"What happened last night, Vicki?" Marissa asked worried. She and Vicki might not be friends but she was concern about the girl, it seems like something terrible happened to her and her friends last night.

"Oh, don't act like you care." Vicki snapped, as she pushed Marissa hard, causing her to hit the back of the couch and fall to the floor.

"Rissa? Are you okay?" Jeremy called out, as he rushed to her side.

"Why are you always so worried about _her, _Jeremy?" Vicki asked him. "_I'm_ your girlfriend, not _her_."

"I know, Vic, but you just pushed her. Why?" Jeremy asked, as he helped Marissa to stand up.

"She deserved that and much more." Vicki said, as she shot Marissa a dirty look.

"Damn, Vic, calm down." Matt said to his sister, as Elena opened the front door and rushed inside the house with Stefan behind her.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, as she glanced at her brother, Marissa and Matt before walking over to Vicki.

"She's really messed up." Matt answered.

"Elena, back up." Stefan said, as he gently pushed Elena aside. He looked at Vicki, as he said,"Vicki, look at me."

After Vicki looked at him, he continued,"Focus. You're gonna be fine, everything's gonna be fine."

Stefan looked at Matt and Jeremy then said,"Guys, take her up to bed, shut the blinds. She's gonna be okay."

Matt grabbed Vicki's arm and began to lead her toward the stairs. Jeremy looked over at Marissa, as he said,"Maybe you should go home."

"You sure? I hate to leave you to deal with all of this." Marissa said with a concern look. Even though she knew he was right, she hated to leave him.

"I'm sure. Look, I'll call you later, okay?" Jeremy said, as he walked over to the stairs.

"It'll be okay, Rissa, we'll take care of Vicki." Elena reassured the younger girl, as she walked her to the front door.

"Alright, well call me if any of you need anything." Marissa said, as she walked out the door.

"We will." Elena promised, as she quickly shut the front door to help Stefan deal with Vicki; who was transition at the moment.

Once alone on the porch, Marissa took a deep breath, she had no idea what was going on with Vicki, but she was worried. Not just about Vicki, but also about Jeremy, Matt and everyone else. Not to mention she had a weird feeling Elena and Stefan knew exactly what was going on, they just weren't saying and she didn't understand why. She didn't understand anything.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

The next morning, Marissa awake to her cell phone beeping, letting her know she had a text message. She grabbed the phone off of the shelf behind her bed and checked her phone. It was a text message from Jeremy, saying that Vicki had taken off and was missing again. He was going to skip school to look for her but he would call later.

Marissa rolled her eyes as she sat down her phone and stood up from the bed. She knew Vicki was going through something, but she wished she would stop taking off and worrying everyone.

After quickly getting ready for school, Marissa and Caroline got into Caroline's car and made their way toward school. After parking the car, Caroline and Marissa were walking across the parking lot, when Marissa saw Matt and decided to go see if there was any news on Vicki,

"Hey, I'll meet you inside, okay?" Marissa said to her sister.

"Okay." Caroline said, as she continued to walk toward the building.

Marissa waved at her sister, then made her way over to Matt with a kind smile on her face.

"Hey, Matt, any word on Vicki?" Marissa asked, as she stood in front of him.

"Yeah, she just called me, she's okay." Matt said with a relieved smile on his face.

Marissa opened her mouth to tell him that was great, but before she could, Tyler jogged over toward them.

"Hey, man." Tyler said to Matt, before glancing over at Marissa. He wanted to speak to her, but wasn't sure if she was still pissed at him. He didn't know where he stood with her anymore.

"Hey." Matt said back.

Tyler looked back at Matt, as he said,"I heard they're putting together a search party for Vicki."

"Actually I was just telling Rissa, that Vicki called and she said she's okay." Matt told him.

Tyler glanced at Marissa again, before speaking to Matt,"Oh good. That's great. I figured you must have been going out of your mind."

"Little bit. Yeah." Matt admitted.

"I was just gonna offer. You know, if there's anything I could do." Tyler said.

"I appreciate it." Matt said with a grateful smile.

"Same goes for me too, Matt." Marissa added.

"Thanks, Rissa." Matt said to her.

"Well, I'll leave you boys alone." Marissa said, as she went to take a step to walk away.

Tyler lightly grabbed her arm, as he said,"You don't have to go. Why don't you hang out a bit?"

Marissa looked into his eyes and could tell he really wanted her to stay, but she wasn't sure she was ready to be around him again. She pulled her arm out of his hand then said,"Sorry, I got to go."

"What was that about?" Matt asked Tyler, after she quickly walked away.

"Long story." Tyler said with a sigh, as he watched her walk into the school building.

After stopping at her locker to grab her book, Marissa made her way over to Caroline's locker. As she walked up, she saw Caroline handed Bonnie her halloween costume.

"I got your costume. It's all here." Caroline said to Bonnie.

"Seriously?" Bonnie asked, when she saw it was a witch costume.

"Don't worry, Bon, we are all going as witches." Caroline said, as she pointed to herself, Marissa and Bonnie.

"Wait, we?" Marissa asked.

"Yes, you are dressing up too." Caroline said, as she handed Marissa her costume.

"I am so not in the mood for halloween this year." Marissa said, as she glanced at the costume. It was a hot pink and black dress. The short sleeves were off the shoulder, it was fitted at the waist and the skirt poofed out with layers of tulle underneath. Even though she wasn't in the mood to dress up, she had to admit it was cute.

"Come on. Can someone please be excited that its halloween?" Caroline asked. "I just wanna have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon free fun."

"You're right. We will have fun." Bonnie said smiling.

"And what about you? Are you up for some fun?" Caroline asked her sister, "After all of your Jeremy/Tyler drama, you need fun more than anyone."

"Alright fine, I'm in." Marissa said. Her sister was right, she needed a night of fun and forget about everything and halloween was the perfect time for that. It was the only night that you could dress up as someone else and forget all of your troubles.

"Thank you." Caroline happily said.

"Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?" Bonnie asked Caroline, as she held up the necklace that Damon took during the Founder's party.

"Yep. Wear it . Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone." Caroline said. "Hey, have you two seen Elena? Do we know what she's wearing?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I was with Grams all weekend. I haven't talked to her, maybe she's with Stefan." Bonnie suggested.

"I was over at the house this morning and she left early to go meet him." Marissa added.

"Riding to his castle on his white horse." Caroline mumbled bitterly.

"Don't be bitter. It provokes wrinkles." Bonnie said to Caroline.

"Hey!" Caroline called out, offended.

"And that's my cue to leave. Bye." Marissa said, as she quickly walked away to get to class as Caroline and Bonnie began to playfully argue with each other.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

Later that evening, Bonnie parked the car in the school parking lot with Caroline sitting beside her and Marissa in the back. The three girls got out of the car, dressed like witches, then made their way toward the school's halloween carnival.

Even though at first Marissa wasn't looking forward to going, she had to admit she was having fun. She just wished she could get in touch with Jeremy, she had been calling him all day with no answer.

Marissa placed the black witches hat on top of her head as she, Caroline and Bonnie walked inside the school, laughing and having a good time. Once inside the school, the three girls glanced around at everyone dressed up.

"We so look better than everyone else here." Caroline said to Bonnie and Marissa; who was standing on either side of her, causing the two girls to laugh at her comment.

Marissa stopped laughing, when she saw Tyler; who was shirtless and wearing a red cape, walking up to them holding three cups. She couldn't help checking him out, then quickly looking away but she wasn't fast enough, as Tyler smirked catching her checking him out.

"Cider for the ladies. It's a Lockwood special." Tyler said, as he held out a cup with one hand and held the other two with his other hand.

"No way. Last year I was hung over until Thanksgiving." Bonnie said, declining the drink.

"Lightweight. I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with." Caroline said, as she grabbed the cup out of his hand. Even though she was still kind of pissed at Tyler, she wasn't about to turn down a drink.

"Sounds like a plan." Tyler said, as he glanced at Marissa out of the corner of his eye. Not that he needed to be drunk for her to look hot, she already looked hot and he wouldn't mind a little make out session with her later.

"What about you?" Tyler asked, as turned his head to look at Marissa and held out a cup toward her.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Marissa said. She looked over at her sister, as she added,"I'm going to go mingle and have all of that fun we were talking about."

"Okay, be careful." Caroline called out, as Marissa walked through the crowd and further into the school.

Marissa walked around for a bit and tried to find someone she knew but was having no luck. She pulled her cell phone out of the black stocking she was wearing and quickly dialed Jeremy's number. She smiled when he finally answered.

_"Hey." _Jeremy said, over the phone.

"Hey, are you at the school carnival?" Marissa asked, when she heard the same loud noise she was hearing over the phone.

_"Yeah, Elena dragged me here." _Jeremy answered.

"Well where are you? I'll come find you." Marissa said.

_"I'm near our lockers." _Jeremy answered.

"Alright, stay there, I'm on my way." Marissa said, as she began to make her way toward her locker.

_"Wow."_ Jeremy said over the phone, as he saw her walking toward him. He's eyes widen in surprise when he saw her costume, most girls wearing it would come off as slutty, but she made it sexy.

"Wow what?" Marissa asked, confused.

_"You look.. wow ... just wow."_ Jeremy said without thinking, she literally took his breath away.

Marissa giggled and blushed at his comment, then said,"Where are you? I don't see you."

_"Right here." _Jeremy said, as he waved at her.

"Oh, you're the creepy stalker in a black hoodie?" Marissa joked.

_"Something like that." _Jeremy said laughing, as she walked up to him and they both hung up their phones.

"You look like you. Way to be original, Jer." Marissa said laughing.

"Hey, it was last minute, besides I was going to go as a witch, but you beat me to it." Jeremy joked.

"Shut up." Marissa said, as she lightly hit his shoulder. "A witch was not my choice. Caroline decided that me, her and Bonnie were going as sexy witches."

"Well you make a very sexy witch." Jeremy said softly, as he looked into her eyes.

Marissa bit her bottom lip and stared at him, she couldn't believe what she just heard. Was Jeremy actually flirting with her or was it just her imagination?

Before she could comment, a group of people ran by them, knocking Marissa toward Jeremy. He quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to him.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked her, with his face close to hers.

"Yeah." Marissa whispered, as she looked into his eyes then down at his lips before quickly looking back into his eyes.

Jeremy saw her eyes flicker between his eyes and lips, and figured this was his chance to finally make a move. He looked into her eyes to make sure he wasn't freaking her out as he slowly moved his face closer to hers.

She looked at him one last time before closing her eyes and waiting for his lips to connect with hers. His lips were only inches away from hers before they quickly broke apart when someone walked up to them and spoke up.

"Well guess it didn't take you both long to move on." Vicki said sarcastically, as she looked at the two of them.

"Vicki, we-" Jeremy began to say.

"Save it, Jeremy." Vicki snapped, interrupting him. "I should have know she would steal you from me next, I just didn't think you would fall for her innocent act."

"Vicki, I'm sor-" Marissa started to say, until Vicki got in her face and interrupted her.

"Oh, don't even think about trying to apologize to me. We both know you wouldn't mean it." Vicki snapped.

"Let's all just go somewhere and talk for a minute." Jeremy suggested, as he lightly grabbed Vicki's hand.

"I don't want to talk to either one of you." Vicki called out, as she pushed them both aside and took off down the hall.

"We should go after her, explain things." Jeremy suggested.

"Explain what, Jeremy? What is going on between us?" Marissa asked with a confused look on her face. She had always seen Jeremy as her best friend, the one she always ran to, but lately she was starting to see him differently and she wasn't going to lie, she really wanted to kiss him earlier and she still wanted to. She suddenly needed to see what it would feel like to kiss him.

"I-I don't know." Jeremy said, also feeling confused. He had loved her for years and had always hope she would begin to see him as more and now that it seemed like it was happening, he was too scared to say anything. He was too scared to get his hopes up.

"Okay, why don't we go talk to Vicki, then we can figure everything else out together?" Marissa suggested with a shy smile, as she grabbed his hand and held it in between her hands.

Jeremy squeezed her hand and nodded his head, as he said,"I like the sound of that."

While still handing his hand, Marissa began to walk down the hall in search for Vicki. She pushed open the door leading to outside by the buses and walked outside into the cool night air as Jeremy walked along behind her.

Marissa opened her mouth to call out for Vicki, but before she could say a word, she felt someone grab her, pulling her away from Jeremy and slamming her back against a school bus.

Vicki wrapped her hand around Marissa's neck, feeling her anger overtake her. "For years, I have sat by while you and all of your little snobby friends judged me. I know what you think of me, you think I am nothing but trash, that I don't deserve anything good in life." She snapped.

Marissa tried to shake her head '_no_' at Vicki's comment, but was finding it hard to move or speak as Vicki squeezed tighter. Marissa felt tears fill her eyes as she tried to take a deep breath but couldn't with Vicki's hand around her throat, cutting off her oxygen.

"Vicki, you're hurting her! Let her go!" Jeremy called out, as he tried to remove Vicki's arm. He was surprise at how strong she was, no matter how hard he pulled on her arm, it wouldn't budge.

"Stay out of this, Jeremy." Vicki called out, as she roughly pushed him away with her other hand, causing him to fall to the ground.

Vicki turned her head to look at Marissa again, as she continued on with her rant,"Why is it that anytime I did have something good in my life, Tyler then Jeremy, you just had to come along and steal them away?"

"I-I d-didn't." Marissa choked out.

"Yes you did!" Vicki yelled. "So you're right, I might be trash, but at least I'm not a slut like you."

Marissa felt tears falling down her face as it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. She closed her eyes and felt like she was going to pass out, when suddenly Vicki's hand was gone and she could breathe again. She slid down to the ground and took several deep breaths before opening her eyes and seeing Stefan holding Vicki against the bus across from her.

"Rissa." Jeremy called out, as he and Elena rushed to her side and helped her to stand up.

Stefan turned his head to look at Marissa, Jeremy and Elena, as he asked,"Is she okay?"

Marissa nodded her head, as she took a few more deep breaths, before croaking out,"I'm fine."

Stefan was surprised when he turned his head back around to see that Vicki had disappeared, he should have known better than to take his eyes off of her for a second, now she could be anywhere.

"Where did she go?" Elena asked Stefan with a worried expression on her face.

"Go, get them inside. Go." Stefan called out, ignoring her question, as he began to walk around looking for Vicki.

Elena grabbed Jeremy and Marissa hands then began to pull them toward the door. If they could just make it inside with everyone, they would be safe, at least that's what Elena was thinking. Before they could make it to the door, Vicki appeared in front of them, causing Elena and Marissa to scream out in fear.

"I wasn't through with you." Vicki said, as she grabbed Marissa's arms to hold her still. Vicki felt her fangs coming out as she began to lower her head toward Marissa's neck, causing the girl the turn her head to the side and scream.

Before Vicki could bite her, Elena picked up a board and hit Vicki in the back with it. Vicki tossed Marissa aside, causing her to slam into Jeremy and then both of them to fall to the ground. Vicki grabbed Elena and quickly bit into her shoulder, causing her to scream out in pain.

Jeremy and Marissa screamed at Vicki to stop, but their cries went unanswered by the vampire as she continued to drink Elena's blood until Stefan came up behind Vicki and drove a stake into her heart. The younger teens gasped in surprise as Vicki's eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the ground.

"Oh, my God." Marissa cried out, as she turned her head and buried it in Jeremy's shoulder. Jeremy wrapped an arm around her and held her tight as he felt tears in his eyes when he looked down at Vicki's dead body.

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Many minutes later, Marissa and Jeremy were at his house in his bedroom, although Marissa couldn't remember how she got there. After being attacked by Vicki and then watching her die, Marissa was too shocked to remember something simple like leaving the school and going to the Gilbert house, but now here she sat on Jeremy's bed with him sitting in front of her, staring at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked, as he lightly stroked her arm. He was worried that she hadn't said anything since everything happened.

Marissa raised her head to look at him, as she began to say,"I-I just, I don't understand what happened."

"Neither do I." Jeremy said, as he heard a knock at his door before Elena walked in to check on the two younger teens.

Elena gave the two a small smile, before she asked, "Do you understand what happened tonight?"

As Marissa shook her head, Jeremy answered,"No. I don't understand. I mean, I know what I saw, but...I don't understand."

"She was going to kill me and Rissa." Elena explained softly.

"Now she's dead. Vicki's dead." Jeremy said, as tears fell down his face. He couldn't believe that in one night he almost saw the woman he love die, his sister attacked and lost the girl he liked all at once. Even though he was in love with Marissa, he can't deny that he cared about Vicki too.

"I'm so sorry, Jer." Elena said, as Marissa ran a hand up and down Jeremy's back, hoping to comfort him.

"I can't handle this, I can't lose any more people I care about." Jeremy cried.

As Jeremy began to cry, Marissa wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Elena looked at her brother and was at a lost on how to help him. She wish there was some way she could take away him pain, some way that he could forget everything that happened tonight.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy, I really am." Elena said again, as she turned to leave the room when an idea hit her.

Once Elena left the room, Marissa continued to hold Jeremy as he cried on her shoulder. She lightly ran her hand up and down his back as she repeatedly apologized to him. She knew how much Vicki meant to him and she knew he was really hurting, but like Elena, she was at a loss on how to help him though this.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy, if I wouldn't have suggested us talking to Vicki, none of this would have happened." Marissa softly said.

Jeremy raised his head to look at her, as he said,"It's not your fault, I wanted to talk to her too. I figured it would be best if we explained things to her."

"I just can't believe how angry she got. She just snapped and what was wrong with her face?" Marissa questioned.

"I don't know." Jeremy answered. He knew what it looked like, it looked like she had turned into a vampire, but he knew that couldn't be right, vampires don't exist.

"I really am sorry about Vicki, I know you really cared about her." Marissa said to him.

"Yeah I do, I just can't believe she is gone." Jeremy said. He turned to face her, placing a hand on her cheek, as he added,"As sad as I am about Vicki, I am also glad that you're okay."

"So am I. I honestly thought she was going to kill me." Marissa said.

Jeremy looked into her eyes and felt tears fill his eyes again at the thought of losing her. He knew in that moment that he never wanted to lose her and he would fight with everything he had to hold on to her and to protect her.

"God, I can't believe how close I came to losing you tonight." Jeremy softly said, as he placed his other hand on her other cheek. "I never want to lose you, Rissa, I can't ever lose you."

"I never want to lose you either, Jer." Marissa softly said, as she rested her forehead against his. "I love you, Jeremy." She whispered out before she could stop herself.

"What?" Jeremy asked her, as he raised his head and looked at her in surprise.

"I love you." Marissa repeated. She took a deep breath, before rambling,"It's something that's been on my mind lately, but I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, but after tonight I am sure. I know I'm just your friend and you might not feel the same or maybe you do I don't know. But I just had to tell you, I wanted you to know, I-"

Jeremy suddenly pulled her face closer to his as he pressed his lips against her to stop her from talking. He knew it would feel like heaven to kiss her again, but the kiss was more than he could have ever hoped it to be.

Marissa felt a tingle from her head to her toes, as she placed her hand on the back of his neck and twirled his hair around her fingers as he deepened the kiss.

Once the kiss was over, Jeremy pulled back to look at her, his lips inches from her, as he softly said,"I love you too, Rissa."

"Really?" Marissa asked with a small smile.

"I have loved you since I kissed you for the first time three years ago." Jeremy admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Marissa asked him.

Jeremy opened his mouth to answer, but before he could there was another knock at his bedroom door, only this time it was Damon who walked in instead of Elena.

"What are you doing here?" Marissa asked him angrily.

"Elena wanted me to have a little chat with you two. You both went through a lot and saw a lot tonight, and Elena feels it would be in your best interested to forget it all." Damon explained, as he sat down on the edge of the bed in front of the two teens.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." Marissa snapped.

"Shut your mouth and look at me, both of you." Damon said, he waited until they both looked into his eyes before he continued to compel them.

"I want you two to forget everything you said, everything you saw, everything you did and everything you felt tonight. When you wake up tomorrow, nothing will have changed, you two will go on with your life like you normally would. You will forget about anything having to do with vampires and if anyone ask, Vicki left town and she's not coming back. You won't look for her, you won't worry about her. You will miss her, but you know it's for the best, okay?"

"Okay." Marissa and Jeremy mumbled.

Damon looked at them both and was satisfied with what he saw. He could tell they had both been compelled and would do what he said. "Okay, now, close your eyes and go to sleep." He said, as he stood up from the bed. After a thought crossed his mind, he added,"Oh and do your homework, eat your veggies and all of that good stuff too, okay?"

"Okay." They mumbled again.

"Sweet dreams." Damon said with a smirk, as the two teens fell back on to the bed and went into a deep sleep. Damon knew in the morning they would both wake up and not remember a thing from this horrible night.

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_a/n - hey all, as you can see I did combine the two episodes. I'm a little worried that it seems like Jeremy moved on from Vicki and her death too quick, but at the same time I kinda feel like it works, cause even though he cared for Vicki, he really loves Rissa. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my spin on the two episodes. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, Writteninthestars08 and ArtemisLuna85 for reviewing the last chapter. Happy reading =)  
><em>


	10. 162 Candles

**162 Candles**

The next morning, Marissa opened her eyes then glanced around Jeremy's bedroom in confusion. She didn't remember what she did last night or going to Jeremy's house or even falling asleep in his bed, but yet here she was.

She rolled over from her side to her other side to face Jeremy, as he opened his eyes and looked at her in confusion. He too couldn't remember anything and even though he was use to waking up sometimes with Marissa in his bed, he didn't remember falling asleep with her last night.

"What did we do last night?" Marissa asked him, as she sat up in his bed.

"Obviously we went to the halloween carnival." Jeremy said, as he pointed to what she was wearing. She looked down and realized she was still wearing a witch halloween costume.

"Obviously." Marissa said with a small laugh. "But what did we do there? Did we have too much to drink or something?"

Jeremy had to admit he felt the way he did on nights that he drank too much or did drugs. His whole mind felt foggy and he felt like something happened but he just couldn't remember no matter how hard he tried.

"I don't remember drinking last night, but maybe we did." Jeremy said, as he sat up and leaned back against the headboard beside Marissa.

Marissa turned her head to look at him at the same time he turned to look at her. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at him while in deep thought.

She couldn't help but feel a little awkward around Jeremy and she didn't know why. She had never felt that way around him before. To her it felt like something had happened between them but that couldn't be right, cause he was just her friend, plus they would both remember if something happened, right?

"Well, whatever I did drink last night, remind me never to drink it again." Marissa said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, same here." Jeremy added with a laugh of his own.

Marissa turned her head and cleared her throat, before asking,"Hey, Jeremy, can I, um... can I ask you something?"

"Of course, you know you can always ask me anything." Jeremy answered.

Marissa looked at him again, before nervously asking,"Did, um, did something happened between us last night?"

"I don't think so, why?" Jeremy asked.

"I just can't shake this weird feeling." Marissa said. "I mean, things between us feel weird, does that make sense? Do you feel it too?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." Jeremy admitted it. As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt different but he didn't know why. He just hoped he didn't do something stupid like tell her how he felt while he was drunk or something.

"Okay, good, so it's not just me that feels it." Marissa said, feeling relieved.

"No, it's not just you." Jeremy said with a laugh, as he ran a hand over his hair. "I just wished I remember what happened."

"Me too." Marissa said. "But we're okay, right? I mean we didn't fight again, did we?"

"I don't think so." Jeremy said. The weird feeling between them didn't feel like they had a fight, it felt like something else, he just wasn't sure what yet.

"Good." Marissa said with a smile.

Jeremy searched his mind, then said,"All I can remember is going to the carnival and seeing Vicki before she left town."

"That's right, I remember that now." Marissa said, as a memory from the night before hit her. What she didn't know was it was a memory that Damon put in her head.

"Are you okay?" She asked Jeremy. She knew how much Vicki meant to him and even though she wasn't sad about the girl leaving town, she knew Jeremy probably was.

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders, then said,"Yeah, I mean I miss her but I know it's for the best, you know?"

"Yeah." Marissa agreed, she opened her mouth to say something else when there was a light knock at the bedroom door before Elena walked into the room.

"Hey, how are you two doing?" Elena asked, feeling nervous. Even though she felt bad about erasing their memories she knew it was for the best, she just hoped it worked and they would never remember the things they saw.

"We're good." Jeremy said with a smile, as Marissa nodded head in agreement.

"Good." Elena said, as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Sheriff Forbes just called, she wants us to come down to the station to answer some questions about Vicki."

"Even me?" Marissa asked.

"No, just me, Jeremy, Matt and Stefan." Elena answered. "Your mom wanted me to tell you to just go to school and she'll ask you some questions later."

"Okay." Marissa said, with a nod.

"I'll see you downstairs, Jeremy. Aunt Jenna is going to give us a ride and we can drop you off at home." Elena said, as she looked at Jeremy then looked over at Marissa.

"Okay, we'll be down there soon." Jeremy said, as Elena turned around and walked out of the bedroom.

Once alone again, Marissa looked at Jeremy, then said,"I know mom wants me to go to school, but did you need me at the station? Like for support or something?"

"Nah, I'll be fine." Jeremy said, as he stood up from the bed.

"Okay, I'll see you at school then." Marissa said, as she stood up from the bed as well, then leaned forward to hug Jeremy.

Jeremy wrapped his arms around her waist to hug her back. As they stood there holding each other, they both could feel that strange feeling again; a feeling like something happened between them but they both knew nothing ever did.

Jeremy leaned back to look at her then he laid his hand on her cheek and felt an eerie sense of déjà vu as he looked into her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Marissa asked him with a concern look on her face.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Jeremy said, as he took a step back and dropped his arm from around her waist. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he did know he didn't want to tip her off about his feelings. He knew it was best to keep his feelings to himself like he always did.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower and get dressed, did you want to borrow anything?" Jeremy asked her.

"Nah, it's okay. I'll keep this on until I get home." Marissa said, as she played with the skirt on her costume.

"Okay." Jeremy said. "You make a very sexy witch by the way." He joked, as he looked at her costume.

"Thanks." Marissa said with a laugh. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion as Jeremy turned around to grab some clean clothes. She didn't know why but the comment he made sounded so familiar to her.

Before she could think too hard about it, Jeremy turned back around and said,"Hey, after school do you want to come by here and help me get caught up on some homework."

"Sure, I feel like I should get caught up too." Marissa said.

"Thanks." Jeremy said smiling.

"No problem." Marissa said smiling back.

"Well, I'll meet you downstairs." Jeremy said to her.

"Okay." Marissa said, as she headed for the bedroom door while Jeremy went into the bathroom he shared with Elena to shower and get dressed for the day.

_- (o0o) -  
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After being dropped off at home by Jenna, Marissa walked into her house and was met at the door by her big sister Caroline; who was about to leave for school.

"Hey, I take it you crashed at Jeremy's last night." Caroline said.

"Yeah." Marissa said, as she walked further into the house.

"Well hurry and change so we can get to school. I'll wait for you." Caroline said.

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she walked toward her bedroom. Before walking into her room, she turned around to ask,"Hey, Care, was I drinking last night?"

"I don't think so. I mean Tyler offered you a drink but you turned it down and walked away, which was a smart move by the way, you should have seen how sad he look when you left." Caroline said with a laugh.

"Really?" Marissa asked with a surprise look. She couldn't believe she would just walk away from Tyler. She was still a little mad at him about the whole Founder's Party drama, but she still liked him and couldn't believe she would just walk away. She also couldn't understand why she didn't remember any of it.

"Yeah, really." Caroline said. "Why you were wondering if you were drinking?"

"Cause I can't remember much from last night, just bits and pieces." Marissa said.

"That sounds like you did drink and too much I might add." Caroline said. "Never do that again." She added in a stern big sister voice.

"Trust me, I won't." Marissa said with a laugh.

"Good, now hurry up. We got to go." Caroline said, as she pushed Marissa toward her bedroom.

After taking a quick shower, Marissa changed into a pair of blue jeans and a coral pink colored sweater. She added a few gold bracelets on her wrist then put on a pair of brown boots before walking into the living room to meet Caroline; who quickly ushered her toward the car before they were late to school.

Once at school, Marissa and Caroline went their separate ways to visit their lockers before the bell rang. Marissa was almost to her locker when she saw Matt grabbing books from his locker.

"Hey." Marissa said to Matt, as she walked over to him and stood beside him.

"Hey, Rissa, how's it going?" Matt said, as he glanced over at her for a second before turning to look back inside his locker.

"Good, how are you? Did everything go okay at the police station?" Marissa asked him.

"Yeah, your mom just had some questions." Matt answered.

"I'm sorry about Vicki." Marissa said sincerely. Now with Vicki gone, she knew Matt was all alone since his mom was always gone too. She had always felt so bad for Matt and felt like he deserved better.

"Thanks." Matt said, as he shut his locker. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised though when she left, I mean mom's never home so I guess Vicki decided why should she stick around. Besides it's not the first time she has taken off."

"Still I'm sure it sucks being all alone." Marissa said.

"I would rather be alone then have to clean up their messes all the time." Matt pointed out.

"That's true I guess." Marissa said.

"So what's new with you?" Matt asked her. "I feel like we haven't talked in a while, unless it had to do with my sister."

Marissa smiled at his comment, it was true they hadn't talked in a while. Back when Matt was dating Elena and would be at the Gilbert house while she was, they use to talk a lot but since he and Elena broke up she hardly seen Matt until recently with all of the Vicki drama.

"Not a lot, just school." Marissa answered.

"I hope you don't get mad about me asking but, what's going on with you and Tyler?" Matt asked her.

"Nothing, why?" Marissa asked with a curious expression on her face. With Matt and Tyler being best friends, she wondered what all Tyler had told him.

"Well I have heard some rumors for one then yesterday when we were talking and Tyler walked up, you couldn't leave fast enough and Tyler looked pretty upset about it, but when I tried to ask him, he wouldn't say much." Matt explained.

"Oh." Was all Marissa could say.

"Look whatever happened I'm sure he deserves you being mad at him cause I know how Tyler can be, but deep down he is a good guy and for what it's worth, I think he does feel bad about it." Matt said to her.

"How do you know?" Marissa asked with a confused looked on her face.

"Cause he's looking at you right now with a pitiful look on his face, like he's just dying to talk to you but too scared to do it." Matt said laughing. He could tell that his best friend had it bad for the younger Forbes girl and he had never known Tyler to be this upset about not talking to someone before.

Usually if Tyler went after a girl then screwed up to the point that the girl wanted nothing to do with him, he would move on to the next girl, but he wasn't doing that with Marissa which to Matt meant something.

At his comment, Marissa shyly glanced over her shoulder to see that Matt was right. Tyler was standing a little down the hall across from them at his locker, only he wasn't looking in his locker, he was looking at her.

Marissa gave him a small smile then turned her head back to look at Matt, she opened her mouth to say something until the bell rang.

"Well I better get to class, but just think about what I said okay?" Matt said to her.

"Okay." Marissa mumbled, as Matt gave her shoulder a small friendly squeeze before walking away to his first class.

Once Matt was gone, Marissa turned back around to look at Tyler as he shut his locker and walked down the hallway.

She thought back to what Matt said earlier, it was true, after what Tyler did he deserved to have her angry at him, but then she thought back to the day that he came to her house to apologize and admit that he liked her. She could tell that was the most honest he had probably ever been with a girl.

It made her start to wonder if she should give him a another chance, maybe not forgive him yet and definitely not forget, but just give him another chance to prove that he was the nice guy she thought he was.

She just hoped he wouldn't do something stupid again to make her regret her decision.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After having Tyler heavy on her mind all day, Marissa was glad when the final bell rang to signal the end of the school day. After dropping by her locker, she quickly met up with Caroline; who was going to give her a ride to Jeremy's house.

Caroline had been driving down the road for a few minutes, when she looked over at her sister, and said,"Is everything okay? You're being very quiet."

"Yeah, just got a lot on my mind." Marissa answered with a sigh.

"Like what?" Caroline asked.

Marissa turned a little in her seat to face Caroline, before saying,"Okay, you remember all the Tyler drama, right? The things he said to his jerk friend during the Founder's Party?"

"How could I forget? That little punk is lucky I haven't kicked his ass for hurting you the way he did." Caroline said angrily.

"Yeah, but he came by the house to apologize." Marissa pointed out.

"True, but, he never should have said the things he said to begin with." Caroline pointed out. "So why are we rehashing the past?"

"Well it's just... I was thinking of giving Tyler another chance." Marissa blurted out.

"But why?" Caroline asked. "He's an ass, Rissa, and a guy like that is not going to change. Besides what about Jeremy?"

"What about him?" Marissa asked confused.

"I thought that you were maybe starting to have feeling for him." Caroline said.

Marissa lowered her eyebrows in confusion at her sister's comment. She didn't remember having different feelings for Jeremy, all she had ever saw him as was a friend.

"Come on, Care, you know Jeremy and I are just friends." Marissa said.

"Okay." Caroline said. "Well, the choice is yours if you want to give Tyler another chance or not. I just don't want to see you hurt again."

"I know, but even after everything I still like him." Marissa admitted. "Maybe I'm an idiot or something." She added with a sigh.

"You're not an idiot. You're just a very forgiving and sweet person." Caroline said with a smile.

"Thanks, Care." Marissa said smiling back.

As Caroline parked her car in front of the Gilbert's house, she turned to look at Marissa, as she said,"But if he does hurt you again, I will kick his ass. I mean it."

"Well, let's hope that never happens." Marissa said with a laugh.

"I hope not." Caroline agreed. She gave he a smile, as she said,"Alright have fun, I'll swing by to get you in a little bit so we can go to the grill for dinner, okay?"

"Okay, see you later." Marissa said, as she opened the car door and stepped out on to the sidewalk. She waved to Caroline as she drove off then made her way up the porch and to the front door.

After ringing the door bell, the front door opened, with Jeremy standing on the other side. He smiled at her, then said,"Hey, come on in."

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she walked into the house.

"You want something to drink?" Jeremy offered.

"Yeah." Marissa said.

"Alright, I'll go grab some drinks and meet you over at the table, okay?" Jeremy said, as he began to walk into the kitchen.

"Okay." Marissa said with a nod, as she walked to the dining room table and sat down. She began to take out her notebooks and textbooks as Jeremy walked over to her and sat a can of coke in front of her before sitting down beside her at the table.

They silently worked side by side for a while, until Elena came walking down the stairs then plopped down on the couch with a sigh.

"What's wrong with her?" Marissa whispered to Jeremy, as she pointed her pencil toward the back of the couch where Elena was sitting.

"Stefan drama." Jeremy whispered back.

"Oh." Marissa mouth, as she went back to her homework.

A minute or so later, Jenna walked into the living room and plopped down beside Elena; who was still sitting on the couch pouting.

"You're wallowing." Jenna said to Elena.

"So are you." Elena said back.

"My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped." Jenna said with a sigh.

At Jenna's comment, Marissa glanced over at Jeremy and waited for him to explain, as he whispered,"Logan drama." Marissa nodded her head in understanding then went back to her homework as Jenna and Elena continued to talk.

"Yeah. Well Logan's a jerk." Elena said to Jenna.

"You didn't get a brush-off e-mail say, '_I'm leaving town. See ya'_." Jenna said back.

"Wanna keep it down over there?" Jeremy said with a sigh as he dropped his pencil, causing Marissa to cover up her mouth and quietly chuckle to herself.

"Why? What are you two doing?" Jenna asked, as she and Elena turned around to look at him and Marissa.

"Homework." Jeremy answered, as he picked back up his pencil.

"Since when do you do homework?" Elena asked Jeremy in shock.

"I gotta finish this. I'm way behind and I have a quiz so..." Jeremy explained, as he looked back down at his book.

Marissa couldn't help but chuckle again as Elena and Jenna looked at each other with a surprised look on their faces. Jeremy, hearing her chuckle, shot her a look to be quiet. Marissa cleared her throat and whispered '_sorry_' before looking back down at her notes.

"What do you think? Alien?" Elena whispered loudly to Jenna.

"Some sort of replicant." Jenna said back.

"He can hear you." Jeremy said to them sarcastically, causing Marissa to laugh out loud.

"You're not helping here, you know." Jeremy snapped at her, trying to be serious but couldn't help laughing with her. He had always found her laugh to be contagious, it was always hard to be serious or stay mad at her whenever she would start to laugh about something.

"Sorry, Jer, we're just surprised is all." Jenna said to him.

"It's cool." Jeremy said with a shrug. He looked over at Marissa, as he asked,"You wanna head up to my room and finish studying?"

Marissa opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted when her cell phone went off, letting her know she had a new text message. She took her phone out of her pants pocket to read the text then said to Jeremy,"I would, but that's Caroline. She's on her way to come get me to have dinner at the grill."

"Oh, okay." Jeremy said.

"You wanna join us?" Marissa asked him, feeling bad for bailing on him.

"Nah, you go ahead." Jeremy said. He knew eating dinner at the grill was something she and Caroline did a few times a week. Since their mom worked so much, the sisters would get together to eat, it was their way of having a _'family dinner'_.

"Alright, well see you later." Marissa said, as she leaned over to give Jeremy a quick hug before standing up from the table. She waved '_bye_' to Jenna and Elena; who both called out one back to her, as she walked to the front door.

Once outside she didn't have long to wait until Caroline pulled up in front of the house. Marissa hurried over to the car and got in the passenger seat. As soon as she was inside safely, Caroline pulled out on to the road and made her way toward Mystic Grill.

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Many minutes later, Caroline parked her car in the parking lot of the grill then got out of the car with Marissa. The sisters were looking at each other laughing and joking around as they walked across the parking lot, until they say something that made them both freeze in their steps. It was Damon.

"What the hell do you want?" Marissa snapped at him.

"I'm not here for you, Mini Forbes, so run along now." Damon said back with his trademark smirk on his face, as he moved two of his fingers in a '_walk along_' gesture.

"I told you to stay away from my sister." Marissa said, as she took a step toward him.

"It's okay, Rissa, I can take it from here." Caroline said, as she laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. She nodded her head toward the building, as she added,"Go on inside, I will be there in a little bit."

"If you're not in there in five minutes, I'll call mom." Marissa threatened. She looked over at Damon, as she added,"And she'll being the whole police station with her."

Damon chuckled at her comment and folded his arms across his chest. He had to admire the younger Forbes spunk, but he wasn't intimidated by her at all.

"I'll be right in." Caroline promised her, as Marissa shot Damon a dirty look then walked toward the building.

Once inside the restaurant, Marissa glanced around the room, looking for a empty booth or table for her and Caroline. She turned her head to the side and saw Tyler with Matt at a pool table.

Matt was leaning down taking a shot while Tyler was leaning against a pool stick as he looked at her. He had seen her when she walked in and was having a hard time looking away.

With her eyes still locked on Tyler, Marissa took a deep breath as she began to walk toward them. She stopped at the head of the pool table as one of the solid balls went into a corner pocket.

"Great shot, Matt." Marissa said, as she laid her hands on the pool table.

"Hey, Rissa." Matt said with a smile, as he stood up from taking a shot.

"Hey." Marissa said back to him. She glanced over at Tyler, as she added,"Hey, Tyler."

"Hey." Tyler said with a surprised look on his face.

"You know what? I think I'm going to go grab a refill." Matt said, as he sat down the pool stick then grabbed an empty cup and walked away to give them some privacy.

Once they were alone, Marissa looked back at Tyler. She opened her mouth then closed it, unsure about what to say next. After a few quiet minutes Tyler finally spoke up.

"So.. You're talking to me now?"

"Yeah." Marissa answered.

"Good." Tyler said back, smiling.

"Listen, Tyler, I'm still upset about what you said-"

"But I apologized." Tyler said, interrupting her.

"I know, just let me finish." Marissa said. "But you did apologize and I might be the biggest idiot for thinking this, but I believe you. I believe that you really didn't mean it and that you do feel bad about it, so for that reason, I'm giving you another chance. I do want us to be friends."

"So do I." Tyler added. Although he wanted to be more than friends with her, but he figured he would take what he could get right now.

"Good." Marissa said smiling. She held out a hand, as she added,"So.. friends?"

"Friends." Tyler said, as he shook her hand. He nodded toward the pool table, as he asked,"Wanna play?"

Marissa turned her head toward the door of the restaurant as Caroline walked in, she looked back at Tyler, then said,"I can't, I'm about to have dinner with Caroline."

Tyler looked to see Caroline walking over to a table then sitting down, he looked back at Marissa, as he said,"Right, the Forbes family dinner."

"Right." Marissa said with a laugh. She tilted her head to the side, as she suggested,"Rain check?"

"Yeah, but don't forget you owe me." Tyler said smiling.

"I won't." Marissa said smiling back, as she gave him a quick wave then walked over to the table Caroline was sitting at.

"So what did Damon want?" Marissa asked her sister, as she sat down across from her.

"Oh, I'm throwing a party here tonight and I was inviting him, Stefan and some friend of Stefan's who's visiting town." Caroline answered, like it was no big deal.

"Since when and why?" Marissa asked confused, she can't understand why Caroline suddenly decided to throw a party and invite Damon to it.

"Since now and why not?" Caroline answered. "I'm going to invite everyone so thought I would invite Damon too. Maybe give him another chance like you're doing with Tyler."

"There is a big difference between Damon and Tyler." Marissa pointed out.

"Maybe so, but maybe me and Damon could be friends." Caroline said with a shrug, as she looked over the menu.

"I don't see that happening, but whatever you say." Marissa mumbled, as she looked down at the menu as well.

"Speaking of second chances, I saw you talking to Tyler when I walked in, how did that go?" Caroline asked, as she closed her menu and sat it on the table. She folded her arms and rested them on top of the menu.

"It was okay." Marissa said. "We're going to be friends."

"Just friends? Why? You're totally into him and he likes you too." Caroline pointed out.

"Yeah, but I figured we should be friends for now. At least until I know if I can trust him or not." Marissa explained. "Besides I thought you would be happy about that, since you don't want me to date Tyler." She added with a laugh.

"True, but only because I think he's a jerk that will hurt you. But I know how much you like him and I trust your decision." Caroline said. "Plus, I just want you to be happy."

"Thanks, Care." Marissa said smiling. "I just want you to be happy too."

Caroline smiled back at her sister as a waitress walked up to take their orders. After eating, the sisters went back home to change for the party then Caroline called everyone she knew to invite them to the party that night.

Marissa still wasn't sure about the party. She thought it was weird that Caroline would suddenly want to throw a party and she couldn't help but wonder if the party was really Damon's idea.

But she figured there was no harm in a big crowded party, so she let it slide for now as she slipped on a black strapless dress, that Caroline insisted she wear. The dress was solid black and ended about mid-thigh with a lace overlay on the skirt part and a sweetheart neckline.

Once Marissa and Caroline were dressed and ready, Caroline drove them back to Mystic Grill, where tons of people had already showed up, ready to party, although Marissa didn't recognize anyone.

"I'll be back." Caroline said to her, as soon as they walked inside the building.

Marissa folded her arms across her chest and scoffed as she saw her sister walking over to the bar and talking to Damon. She still couldn't believe Caroline was giving him another chance. She wished her sister could see he was nothing but bad news.

Marissa was so lost in thought as she watched her sister, she didn't know anyone had walked up behind her, until the person whispered in her ear.

"Looking good, Baby Forbes." Tyler whispered, with his lips inches away from her ear.

Marissa turned around to face him as she felt a warm tingle down her back at his comment and from feeling his breath on her skin. She smiled at him, as she said,"You're looking good too, Lockwood."

"I know." Tyler joked, as he flashed her his trademark smile.

Marissa chucked and rolled her eyes at his comment, before saying,"I wasn't sure if you would have showed up tonight, since it was last minute and all."

"Of course I'll show, I'm not turning down a party." Tyler said laughing. He pointed a finger at her, as he playfully added,"Besides you owe me a game of pool."

"Maybe later." Marissa said with a laugh. "But first I need a drink."

"Alright, well you know where to find me." Tyler said, as he walked away from her than made his way toward the pool tables.

Marissa couldn't stop smiling as she watched him walk away. She had to admit, she did miss being around him and missed the way her heart would race every time he smiled at her.

With a smile still on her face, she made her way over to the bar and ordered herself a glass of sprite. While she waited for her drink, she turned around and glanced around the room. Even if she wasn't sure at first about the party, she had to admit, it seemed like everyone was having a good time.

"Here's your sprite." The bartender said, as he sat a glass down in front of her.

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she quickly turned around and picked the glass up.

"Ugh, sprite is so boring, it's better with tequila in it." A female voice from beside her, said.

Marissa turned her head to look at the beautiful blonde standing beside her. She pretty much knew everyone in town and was sure that she had never seen this girl before in her life.

"Yeah, well, I'm under age so just sprite for me." Marissa said with a laugh.

The girl picked up her shot glass and poured the shot of tequila into Marissa's glass, then said,"Shh, don't tell anyone."

"Thanks." Marissa said, smiling.

"I'm Lexi, by the way, a friend of Stefan's." Lexi said, as she held out a hand.

"Oh, hey, I'm Rissa." Marissa said, as she shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." Lexi said with a friendly smile.

"You too." Marissa said. "Where is Stefan anyway? I haven't seen him yet." She asked.

"He said he'll meet me here, then we'll get to the birthday festivities." Lexi said. When Marissa shot her a confused look, she added,"It's Stefan's birthday."

"Really? I didn't know that." Marissa said surprised.

"Yeah, well he doesn't like to tell people, but oops." Lexi said, as she threw up her hands and laughed.

Marissa laughed at Lexi's comment, then glanced over at the pool table with a smile on her face when she heard Tyler cheering with his friends after making a shot.

"Boyfriend?" Lexi asked her when she saw who Marissa was looking at.

"What?" Marissa asked, as she looked back at blonde.

"The cutie you're staring at, is he your boyfriend?" Lexi asked, then added,"I saw you two talking earlier."

"Oh, no. We're just friends." Marissa answered.

"Really?" Lexi asked surprised. "Didn't look like that from where I was sitting."

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked. She was curious on how an outsider viewed her and Tyler.

"It was just the way you two were looking at each other. Seemed like you both were crazy for each other." Lexi explained.

"Well I do like him and have for years." Marissa admitted. "And recently he told me he liked me too."

"So what's stopping you?" Lexi asked confused.

"Honestly? I'm scared." Marissa shyly admitted. It was the first time she had ever admitted those thoughts out loud to someone. She knew she could have always told Caroline or Jeremy, but sometimes it was nice admitting something to a stranger. Someone who wouldn't judge or make fun of you.

"Of course, love can be scary, but it can also be the best feeling in the world when it's real." Lexi pointed out.

"But how do I know if it's real?" Marissa asked, then began to ramble,"I've never really been in a relationship before and I've only kissed one guy, and that was my best friend, one time, years ago."

Lexi couldn't help but chuckle at the young rambling girl standing before her. The poor girl had no clue about love and relationships, but if she could have seen the way that boy looked at her earlier, she wouldn't even have to question if what they could have was real or not, she would have known for a fact that he cared about her.

Sometimes you really could tell everything from one look and after being alive as long as she had, Lexi was good at noticing those things.

"When it's real, you'll know." Lexi said. "But trust me, it is real, I can sense these things."

"Thanks." Marissa said smiling, as she glanced back over at Tyler; who was still joking around with his friends. She thought about the things Lexi just said and hoped it was the truth, she didn't know if she could handle being hurt by Tyler again.

Before Marissa could get too lost in thought, Stefan walked up to them with a kind smile on his face.

"Hey." Stefan said to the two girls.

"Hey, happy birthday." Marissa said to Stefan.

"Thanks." Stefan said, smiling.

"I think we need a birthday shot." Lexi said, as she raised her hand to flag down the bartender behind the bar. As she ordered three shots of tequila, Marissa turned up her glass and drank the sprite and tequila mix in one swallow.

"Here you go." The bartender said, as he sat three shot glasses full of tequila in front of Lexi, then said,"Now I'm going to need to see some ID."

"No you don't." Lexi said, as she looked into his eyes.

"That'll be-"

"Free." Lexi said, interrupting him.

"On the house." The bartender said with a smile.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Marissa asked impressed, as the bartender walked off to wait on other customer.

"It's part of my charm." Lexi lied, as she handed Marissa and Stefan a shot before drinking her own.

"I might have to try that sometimes." Marissa said laughing, as she drank her shot. She wasn't much of a drinking and the two shots were already causing her to feel a little buzzed.

"Oh, I love this song." Lexi suddenly called out, as a fast song began to play throughout the restaurant.

Lexi grabbed the full shot glass that was in Stefan's hand. She quickly drank the shot then sat the empty shot glass on the bar before she grabbed his arm and called out,"Let's dance birthday boy."

Stefan groaned but didn't say anything as Lexi began to pull him away from the bar. Lexi turned her head to look at Marissa, as she called out,"You coming?"

"No, you two go ahead." Marissa said laughing.

"Okay, nice talking to ya, Rissa." Lexi said with a friendly smile.

"You too, see you later." Marissa called out smiling.

Marissa watched Lexi and Stefan dance around for a bit, then glanced back over to the pool table to look at Tyler as he was leaning down to take a shot. She thought about walking over to him until she saw his jerk friend Brad standing beside him. She rolled her eyes and quickly looked away when Brad looked at her and winked as he shot her an obnoxious smile.

She turned her head to look at all the people standing at the bar and was surprised to see her sister Caroline drinking from a shot glass and looking upset. She made her way down to the end of the bar and stood beside Caroline.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Marissa asked, as she wrapped an arm around her sister's waist.

"I'm shallow." Caroline sadly said with tears in her eyes.

"What?" Marissa asked. "Who said that?" She questioned angrily.

"Who do you think." Caroline said, as she picked up a shot glass and took another shot.

Marissa felt anger over take her at Caroline's comment. She knew exactly who told her sister that and she wasn't happy about it. She was tired of Damon treating her sister like crap.

"Listen to me, Care," Marissa began to say, as she took the shot glass out of her sister's hand. "You are not shallow or anything else Damon might tell you. You are an amazing person, you're the best sister I could ever ask for and a great friend. The people who love you, know how great you are and would never think anything bad about you. I don't know what Damon's problem is, maybe he wasn't loved enough as a kid, but he is wrong about you."

"Thanks." Caroline said with a small smile.

Marissa wrapped her arms around her and hugged her sister tight, as she said,"I love you, Care."

"I love you too, Ris." Caroline said back.

"Are you going to be okay?" Marissa asked her, after the hug.

"I think so." Caroline answered. "I just want to go home."

"Okay, let me do one thing very quickly then we'll go home, okay?" Marissa said. "Why don't you go sit down and I'll find you when I'm done." She suggested.

"Okay." Caroline said, as she began to walk away from the bar and stumble around.

Marissa was about to rush to her side, until she saw Caroline sitting down in a booth beside Matt. Marissa knew Caroline would be okay with Matt until she got back. At the moment all she wanted to do was find Damon and cuss him out.

She walked away from the bar and glanced around the room as she tried to find him with no luck. She continued to look around as she walked around the restaurant, but when she didn't see him anywhere, she decided to walk outside and look for him.

As she glanced around for him in the front of the building, Damon was on the left side of the building, unaware that the young girl was searching for him.

Marissa walked over to the right side of the building and glanced down the alley. She took a few steps into the alley as she looking around for the older Salvatore brother. When she heard someone walk up behind her, she quickly turned around and gasped in surprise until she saw who it was.

When her eyes landed on Brad, she let out a loud groan. He was the last person she wanted to talk to.

"Hey." Brad said with a smirk on his face, as he openly checked her out.

Marissa wrapped her arms around herself, feeling uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. She ignored his greeting and tried to walk past him but he stepped aside to block her.

"Where you going?" Brad asked.

"Away from you." Marissa snapped, as she tried to walk past him again, but he quickly blocked her from leaving the alley.

"Aw, don't be like that, Rissa." Brad said, as he took a step toward her. "We're both alone here and I think we could have a little fun, if you know what I mean."

Marissa took a step back from him, as she stated,"Leave me alone."

"I noticed the way you were looking at me before." Brad said, as he walked toward her again. He kept walking toward her until her back hit the huge green dumpster that was in the alley.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't looking at you." Marissa angrily said.

"You don't have to lie. I'm sure Tyler won't mind if we shared." Brad said, as he placed his hands on the dumpster, on either side of her head, trapping her from leaving.

As he leaned forward to try to kiss her, she laid his hands against his chest and pushed him away, telling him to '_stop_'. He angrily pushed her against the dumpster and tried to kiss her again.

"Stop it! Leave me alone!" Marissa yelled at, as she tried to push him away again.

Brad grabbed her wrist and slammed them against the dumpster as he snapped,"What the hell is your problem?"

"Let me go." Marissa screamed, ignoring his question.

"So, what, only Tyler is lucky enough to get a piece from you?" Brad asked. "You think that makes you special? You think he actually cares?" He didn't wait for her to answer, as he continued,"You're nothing but a piece of ass to him and now that he's done with you, it's my turn."

Marissa opened her mouth and tried to scream, but before she could make a sound, Brad quickly placed a hand over her mouth to shut her up as he wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her body closer to his.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed as hard as she could, but any time she succeeded in pushing him away, he would wrap his arm tighter around her and pull her body back against his again.

Marissa knew she wasn't strong enough to fight him, so she did the only thing she could think of, she bit his hand that was over her mouth, causing him to yell out in pain and let her go.

She took a step to run away, but didn't get far when Brad reached out for her. He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her back toward him.

"You stupid bitch." Brad yelled out, as he swung her around by her hair then pushed her toward the brick wall of the building.

Marissa quickly threw her arms out to catch herself from slamming into the wall face first. She quickly turned around to face Brad as he began to walk toward her with his hands balled into a fist.

When she saw him raise his arm to hit her, she closed her eyes and quickly raised her arms to block his hit, but before Brad could move his fist toward her, he felt someone grab him from behind and slam him against the opposite wall.

After hearing the sound of someone slamming against a wall, Marissa opened her eyes and was surprised to see a very angry Tyler holding Brad against the wall.

Tyler had no idea what was going on, he had just walked out of the grill to go home, when he heard yelling coming from the alley. Without a second though, he headed toward the sound and was surprise to see his friend, Brad, pushing Marissa around. He felt anger over take him and rushed into the alley when he saw Brad about to hit her.

"Get the hell off of me, man." Brad called out, as he tried to push Tyler off of him. Tyler ignored his comment as he grabbed Brad's shirt to pull him forward then slam him against the wall again.

"What the hell is your problem, man." Brad yelled, as he pushed Tyler again, finally succeeding in pushing Tyler away from him.

Tyler balled up his hands into a fist as Brad took a step toward him. Brad pointed to Marissa, as he said,"Don't worry man, after I make that slut yell my name, you can have her back."

Tyler didn't know what came over him as he raised his arm and punched Brad in the nose, before Brad could move or hit him back, he punched him again, causing Brad to fall to the ground.

As Brad tried to stand up, Tyler kicked him in the stomach and knocked him back down. Marissa called out his name, but Tyler heard nothing as he continued to kick Brad in the stomach.

"Tyler, stop it!" Marissa cried out, hoping to get through to him before he seriously hurt Brad or worse; killed him.

Tyler, finally hearing her cries, stopping kicking a wounded Brad and turned around to face her. She gasped in surprise at the look on his face. She had never seen Tyler this angry before; his breathing was labored and he was literally shaking in anger with his arms down by his side and his hands still balled up in a fist.

"Tyler?" Marissa softly said, as she took a step toward him.

Tyler blinked then looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time. He felt his anger slowly melting away as she took another step toward him and wrapped her arms around his middle to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Brad spit out some blood then stood up, shooting a angry look at the couple. Tyler, seeing him stand up, dropped his arms from around Marissa and looked at him, slightly pushing her behind him.

He still can't believe he lost it the way he did and beat on a guy that he use to see as a friend, but when he thought about what Brad was doing to her and how badly it could have been, he took a step toward him.

Brad threw up his hands, as he called out,"Stay away from me, man, we're finished. You hear me? You and your bitch stay away from me. We're not friends anymore."

As Brad walked away, Marissa took a step foward to lay a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "You okay?" She softly asked.

Tyler turned to look at her, as he said,"I'm sorry for losing it like that. I don't know what happened. I just saw him hurting you and I-"

"Hey, it's okay." Marissa softly said, interrupting him. She turned him around to face her, then grabbed one of his hands. She gave his hand a small squeeze, hoping to comfort him.

"Are you okay?" Tyler queestioned her with a concern look on his face.

"I am now." Marissa said with a small smile. "Thank you."

She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, she saw police lights in front of the grill. "Something's going on." She stated, as she began to walk out of the alley and toward the front of the building with Tyler walking along behind her.

For a moment, they both were worried that Brad had called the cops on Tyler.

Marissa, seeing her mom standing near the front of the building, walked toward her and called out to her. Liz looked at her youngest daughter and was concern when she noticed her tear stained face and wild hair. All Liz could think was that someone hurt her daughter.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Liz asked her, as she looked between her and Tyler, waiting for one of them to explain.

"I'm fine, Mom, everything is okay." Marissa said. "I was upset about something stupid and Tyler was helping me." She lied.

Liz opened her mouth to ask more, but before she could, Matt walked out of the restaurant holding a drunk Caroline in his arms. Liz sighed as she looked at her oldest daughter.

"Hey, Rissa." Caroline said happily when she saw her sister, but ignored her mom; who was looking right at her with a disappointed look on her face.

"What happened, is she okay?" Liz asked Matt.

"Like you care." Caroline snapped.

"She's drunk?" Liz asked Matt, as she looked at Caroline again.

"No, she's fine, Mom." Marissa lied, trying to cover for Caroline; who told on herself when she called out,"As a skunk."

"Have you been drinking too?" Liz asked Marissa with a disappointed look on her face.

"No." Marissa lied again, unfortunately her mom could see right through the lie.

"Are they serving you in there?" Liz asked the four young teens standing in front of her.

"I'll take them home. It's on my way. I haven't been drinking." Matt said to Liz, ignoring her question.

"I would appreciate that, Matt thank you." Liz said sincerily. She looked at her daughters, as she added,"We all will discuss this later."

"Can't wait." Caroline said sarcastically, as Matt began to walk away with Marissa and Tyler following them.

Marissa opened the passenger side door on Matt's truck so he can sit Caroline down in the seat. Once Caroline was safe inside, Matt shut the door then looked at Marissa, as he asked,"You ready to go?"

"Actually, I can take Rissa home." Tyler offered.

"Okay." Matt said, knowing he wanting more time with her. With a small nod, he walked over to the driver's side door and got inside his truck.

Marissa and Tyler stood side by side as they watched Matt back up then drove out of the parking lot. Once the truck was gone out of sight, Tyler looked over at Marissa, as he asked,"You ready?"

"Hell yes." Marissa answered with a small laugh. She was ready to get home and put this terrible night behind her.

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><em>

Many minutes later, Tyler pulled up behind Matt's truck and parked the car as Matt was getting out of the truck and heading toward the passenger side door. Marissa jumped of Tyler's car and jogged over to the truck to help Matt with Caroline.

"It's okay, I got her." Matt told her. "Just opened the front door."

Marissa nodded her head then walked toward the front door. She unlocked the door then pushed it open as Matt walked inside the house, holding a sleeping Caroline.

She watched Matt carry Caroline to her bedroom, then walked back outside on the porch, where Tyler was standing with his hands in his front pants pockets.

"Thank you." Marissa said to him, as she shut the front door and stood in front of him.

"No problem, it wasn't that far out of the way." Tyler said, thinking she was thanking him for a ride home.

"No I mean, thank you for the Brad drama and everything." Marissa explained. "If you didn't show up when you did, I don't know what would have happened."

Tyler clenched his jaw and felt himself getting angry again as he thought about all the bad things that could have happened to her if he didn't show up when he did.

Hearing his breathing pick up, Marissa looked over at him, she could tell he was getting worked up again. She walked closer to him and placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her.

"Shh, it's okay, Ty, just take a deep breath and calm down." Marissa softly said, as she took a deep breath then slowly released it with him.

"That's right, just keep breathing." She added, as he took a few more deep breaths and felt himself calming down as he stared into her eyes.

Once she noticed he was okay now, she removed her hands from his face and folded her arms across her chest, as she questioned,"Does that happen a lot?"

"What?" Tyler asked her confused.

"You losing your cool and getting angry."

"Yeah, I don't know why though. Mom says I get it from dad, I guess it's a Lockwood thing to lose your temper." Tyler said with a bitter laugh.

"It's okay, we all get things from our parents we don't like." Marissa said. "Like my scrawny legs, I got them from mom." She added with a laugh.

"Trust me, your legs are not scrawny." Tyler said with a grin, as he glanced down at her bare legs.

"Stop that." Marissa stated with a laugh, feeling her face heating up and knew she was blushing.

"Stop what?" Tyler asked, as he looked back up at her.

"Stop looking at me like that." She explained, as another laugh escaped.

"Looking at you like what?" He questioned, as he took a step closer to her, his face only inches from hers.

Marissa saw him glance at her lips then look into her eyes, as he tried to read her before making a move. She knew he wanted to kiss her and a big part of her wanted to kiss him back, but she was still afraid and unsure if she was ready for that yet.

Marissa bit her bottom lip, before smiling and saying,"I should get inside to check on Caroline. Plus it's late."

"Okay." Tyler said, as he took a step back from her. He knew if he stayed close to her for too much longer, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from making a move, but the last thing he wanted to do was push her when he could tell she wasn't ready.

"See you later?" Marissa asked him.

"Yeah, definitely." Tyler said back.

Marissa placed her hands on his shoulders, then stood on her tip toes to lightly kiss his cheek, before whispering,"Night, Ty."

"Night." Tyler said back in surprise, as he watched her walk inside the house then shut the front door. He smiled then turned around to walk off the porch and over to his car, before driving away.

Once inside the house, Marissa leaned against the front door and smiled as she felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach like she always did when she was around him.

She thought back to what Lexi told her earlier that night and for the first time she really paid attention to the way Tyler looked at her and now she could see what Lexi was talking about, making her think maybe Lexi was right about it being real between them.

At least she hoped it was right. But only time would tell.

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><em>

_a/n - hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated sooner, I've been working on this chapter/episode for days but I was in a bit of a funk and it just didn't seem like it was going right, so I just kept writing through and I finally finished. I hate that I had to skip around so much, but there was only so much that Rissa could be involved in, but hopefully you all will enjoy it. I know all the Jeremy/Rissa fans are probably not happy with me right and I apologize for that. It was always my plan to have a Rissa/Tyler relationship first then later have her with Jeremy. Sadly I love her with both guys, so who knows what will end up happening in the end lol. Anyway enough rambling. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to ArtemisLuna85, KyroxIsxSmexy, Writteninthestars08, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, Sage Londyn, Cupcakelover56 and Beesy for reviewing. Happy reading =)_


	11. History Repeating

**History Repeating**

The next morning, Marissa exited Caroline's car and placed her bag on her shoulder, as she and Caroline began to walk toward the school building. She adjusted her bag to make it more comfortable on her shoulder then looked over at her sister.

"So, what time did Matt leave last night?" Marissa asked. "I noticed he was still in your room when I went to bed last night."

Caroline shrugged, then said,"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up. Which is a totally lame move if you ask me."

"Is there something going on with you two?" Marissa asked with a smile. She loved the idea of her sister being with Matt, he was a genuine nice guy and just the type of guy that Caroline needed to be with.

Caroline shrugged her shoulders again, but instead of answering the question, she asked,"What's going on with you and Tyler? Matt mentioned you two looked pretty cozy on the porch when he went into the kitchen to grab me some water."

"We're good." Marissa answered with a smile.

"Still doing the whole friend thing?" Caroline asked.

"Yep." Marissa answered.

"I still don't get that, you two obviously like each other, so just go for it." Caroline said, causing Marissa to shoot her a confused look.

"What?" Caroline asked, when she saw the look her sister gave her.

"I just never thought I would hear you telling me to go after Tyler, I thought you hated him." Marissa said.

"I don't hate him, I just hate that he hurt you. But if you can forgive him, then so can I." Caroline said. "Besides you two are cute together, so I guess I am slowly turning in to a Ryler fan."

"A Ryler fan?" Marissa asked confused.

"Yeah, you know how celebrity couples combine their names when they're dating?" Caroline asked. When Marissa nodded her head, she added,"Well you and Tyler would be 'Ryler'."

"Whatever you say, Care." Marissa said laughing.

The two sisters were still laughing with each other, when Elena walked toward them and began to walk beside them. The three girls all smiled and greeted each other as they continued to walk toward the school building.

"Have you even talked to Bonnie?" Elena asked Caroline, getting right to the point.

"No, I'm mad at her. She needs to make the first move." Caroline answered.

"Be the bigger person." Elena said, hoping to get through to Caroline. She hated when her friends were fighting.

"Impossible in her presence." Caroline said.

"Care, don't be rude." Marissa said. A confused look appeared on her face, as she asked,"Why are you so pissed at her anyway?"

"That's what I want to know." Elena said with a sigh.

"She's a thief. That's why. I gave her my necklace, and she refuses to give it back. It's a matter of principle." Caroline angrily said.

"What necklace? The Damon necklace?" Marissa questioned.

"Yes, the Damon necklace." Caroline answered.

"Who cares about that stupid necklace. If Damon wants it so bad, he can ask for it himself." Marissa pointed out. She looked at her sister, as she said,"You really need to stop doing Damon's dirty work."

"I'm not doing his dirty work. It's just not fair that Bonnie gets to keep something that isn't hers." Caroline argued.

"All right. Well, I tried. I'm officially out of it." Elena said, causing Marissa to nod her head in agreement.

"Good. Your turn. Where's Stefan? Have you talked to him?" Caroline asked Elena.

"He's avoiding me." Elena sadly said.

"Are you two having problems again?" Marissa asked her with a concern look on her face.

"Yeah." Elena answered.

"Why?" Caroline asked.

"It's complicated. I'll see you later." Elena said, as she walked away from the Forbes sisters. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to them everything that was going on, plus who's to say they would even believe half of what she told them.

"That was weird." Marissa mumbled.

"Yeah." Caroline agreed, as she watched Matt walk toward them. She smiled and waited to see if he would stop and talk to her, instead he just mumbled out a '_hey_' and kept walking.

"What was that about?" Marissa asked her sister. She had seen how excited Caroline was to see Matt, then disappointed when he walked away.

"I don't want to talk about." Caroline mumbled. She walked through the entrance of the school, calling out,"I'll talk to you later, bye."

"Bye." Marissa mumbled, as she stood still and watched her sister walk away. She shook her head as she quickly realized both Caroline and Elena were having guy problems, but neither one wanted to talk about it.

She could understand the need to keep things private, but she still wished they would open up to her or at least someone, it was never good to keep things bottled up inside.

Marissa pushed that thought aside and walked into the school building, she had only taken a few steps down the hall, when she heard someone walk up to her and began to walk with her down the long hallway. She turned her head to the side and smiled when she noticed it was Tyler.

"Morning, Baby Forbes." Tyler said smiling.

"Morning... Big Lockwood." Marissa said laughing at the lame nickname she thought up for him.

"Big Lockwood? Really? That is all you could think of?" Tyler joked.

"Well you called me baby and the first word that popped in my head was '_big_' so that's what you got called." Marissa said, as she laughed again.

"Hey, I don't mind being called '_big_'." Tyler said with a wink.

"Ew, gross, Ty." Marissa called out, as she lightly pushed him away from her, causing him to laugh out loud.

"You said it, I didn't." Tyler said. He looked at her for a moment, before adding."But it's good to see you laugh though. How are you doing after everything that happened at the party?"

"Okay." Marissa answered with a shrug. She didn't see any reason to fill him in on the nightmares she had last night about Brad.

"How are you doing?" Marissa asked him.

"Okay." Tyler answered. "I saw Brad this morning, but he turned around and walked in the opposite direction."

"I think you might have scared him." Marissa joked.

"Good, after what he did, he needs to be scared." Tyler said, as he lowered his eyebrows in anger.

"I'm sorry." Marissa softly said, as she looked up at him.

"Wait, sorry for what?" Tyler asked, as he stopped walking. He lightly grabbed her arm to stop her then turned her around to face him as he waited for her to answer.

"Well it's just- I know you two were good friends, but now-"

"Hey, that is not your fault." Tyler said, as he looked into her eyes, hoping he could get her to understand she had nothing to feel bad about. "Besides I don't need friends like that in my life." He added.

"Okay." Marissa mumbled, but couldn't stop the guilt she felt.

"Speaking of friends, you want to go out soon?" Tyler asked, as he ran a hand over his hair. Before she could answer, he quickly added,"Just as friends."

"Yeah, I would like that." Marissa said, smiling.

"Great." Tyler said. "I'll call you and we'll plan something soon." He called out, as he began to walk backwards.

"Okay." Marissa called out, as she watched him turned around and continued to walk down the hallway.

She couldn't stop smiling as she walked over to her locker. She couldn't wait until they hung out and she began to wonder if she should do what Caroline said, just go for it.

She still wasn't sure if she should open her heart up to him yet though. She had seen through the years how heartbroken Caroline, Elena and Bonnie had been when a relationship didn't go right and she wasn't sure if she could handle that heartache, but on the other hand, she did really like Tyler and she could tell he was really trying to be better.

She finally decided to just take it one day at a time, see what happens and hope for the best.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After lunch, Marissa was walking toward her locker, when she saw Jeremy walking out of the history class room. When he saw her standing there, he smiled and walked over toward her.

"Hey, Rissa." Jeremy said, as he stood in front of her.

"Hey, Jer, what's going on?" Marissa asked, as she nodded her head toward the classroom he just walked out of.

"I was just talking to the new history teacher." Jeremy answered.

"How is he? Is he nice?" Marissa asked. She had not met the new teacher yet, but she had his class later in the day and she was hopefully he would be better than the last teacher.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. He offered to let me do a paper so I can get my grade up." Jeremy said.

"Really? That's great, Jer." Marissa said, as she leaned forward and hugged him.

"Yeah, I think so to." Jeremy said, as he hugged her back. "Now I just have to pick a topic."

"What does the paper have to be about?" Marissa questioned.

"Anything, he said just keep it local." Jeremy answered.

"Well that shouldn't be too hard, this town does have a very rich history." Marissa pointed out.

"Yeah, I'll think of something." Jeremy said. "I'm just glad he's giving me a shot to make up my grade."

"Me too." Marissa said. She looked at Jeremy then glanced over his shoulder and saw Tyler standing down the hall talking to Matt. When Tyler saw her looking at him, he raised his head to nod at her with a smile on his face, causing her to giggle and smile back.

"What are you looking at?" Jeremy questioned, as he turned around to look behind him, but didn't see anyone since Matt and Tyler had walk away.

"Nothing." Marissa said. Changing the subject, she asked,"So do you need any help on the paper?"

"Nah, I should be okay." Jeremy answered.

"Alright, well if you get stuck, all you have to do is ask and I'll help you." Marissa offered.

"Thanks." Jeremy said smiling. He turned his head to look beside him, as they watched Elena walked over to them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Elena asked them.

"I was just telling Rissa, that Mr. Saltzman is giving me a chance to make up my grade by doing a paper." Jeremy answered.

"That's awesome, Jeremy." Elena said smiling.

"Yeah I thought so too." Jeremy said. "Well I'm going to hit the library to see what I can find." He said to both of them.

Marissa and Elena called out '_bye_' as Jeremy walked away, once they were alone, Elena looked over at the younger girl and said,"I need your help."

"With what?" Marissa asked confused.

"With getting Caroline and Bonnie to make up." Elena said.

"I thought you were staying out of it." Marissa joked.

"I know, but I hate when they are fighting." Elena said.

"I know what you mean, I hate it too." Marissa agreed. "So what can I do to help?" She asked.

"I'm planning a sleepover tonight at my house and I need you and Caroline there." Elena answered.

"I can do that, besides a sleepover should be fun." Marissa said.

"I hope so." Elena said.

"Caroline and I can bring some food from the Grill." Marissa offered. "You could also invite Stefan's friend Lexi if you want." She added, remembering her from the party.

"Oh, um... Lexi already left town." Elena lied.

"Oh that sucks, I really liked her." Marissa said honestly. "Well maybe next time she's in town, we all can get together."

"Yeah maybe." Elena mumbled, feeling guilty. She hated how she had to constantly lie to everyone, but she honestly felt like it was for the best. The last thing she wanted to do was expose the younger girl to vampires unless she had to, which hopefully she never will have to.

"Okay, well, I guess we will see you this afternoon." Marissa said to Elena, as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of their next class.

"Yeah, see you then." Elena said with a smile, as she began to walk down the hall toward her next class.

Once Elena was gone, Marissa quickly made her way to her locker to grab her books for her next few classes then went to class, she couldn't wait for the school day to be over.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After school, Caroline and Marissa went home to quickly grab what they would need for the sleepover at Elena's then made their way to Mystic Grill to order some food.

As soon as the sisters walked into the restaurant, Marissa saw Jeremy and Jenna sitting in a booth eating dinner. Marissa looked at Caroline, then said,"I'm going to go speak to Jeremy and Jenna."

"Okay, I'll wait for the food and yell for you when it's done." Caroline said, as she walked over to the bar to place their order.

Marissa nodded her head in thanks, then began to walk over toward the booth, she sat down beside Jeremy, then said,"Hey, what's going on?"

"Hey." Jenna said smiling to the younger girl.

"Aunt Jenna is staring at our new teacher." Jeremy answered Marissa with a laugh.

"Oh, Mr. Saltzman, he is kind of cute." Marissa said to Jenna.

"I'm not staring at him. I'm just observing him from a safe distance." Jenna explained, causing the two young teens to laugh.

"Well, we can introduce you." Jeremy said, as Marissa nodded her head in agreement.

Jenna waved them off, as she said,"Nah, I don't need two teenagers fixing me up."

"Go talk to him then." Marissa suggested.

Jenna shook her head at the comment then looked at Jeremy, as she changed the subject,"So, have you picked a topic yet?"

"No, not yet. It's got to be local and non-internet research, so-"

"That's easy. You got all your dad's stuff." Jenna said, interrupting him.

"What stuff?" Jeremy asked.

"How the Gilbert's came over on the Mayflower stuff, all that family lineage from way back. Your dad really loved all that family history stuff." Jenna explained.

"That's a good idea, thanks" Jeremy said to his aunt.

"Yeah, it is." Marissa agreed. "I'll be at your house later cause of the sleepover, so I'll help you go through it if you want." She offered.

"Yeah, that will be great. Thanks." Jeremy said to her.

Before anyone could say anything else, Alaric walked up to their table and gave them a friendly smile.

"Mr. Saltzman." Jeremy greeted out to him.

"Hey Jeremy, what's up man?" Alaric said. He looked at the teenager sitting beside him, as he added,"You're Marissa Forbes, right? You're in my last class?"

"Right, that's me." Marissa said smiling.

"This is my Aunt Jenna." Jeremy said to him, introducing them to each other.

"Alaric Saltzman. It's nice to meet you." Alaric said, as he shook her hand.

Jenna smiled at him, as she said,"Jeremy was just telling me about his paper. Thanks for giving him another chance."

Alaric shrugged like it was no big deal, then said,"It was my first day. I wanted to make a good impression."

Marissa watched as Jenna and Alaric smiled at each other. She could already tell they were interested in each other, but before she could continue to watch them, she heard Caroline calling for her.

"That is my cue, I'll see you two later." Marissa said, as she looked at Jenna and Jeremy.

"Bye, see you at the house." Jenna said to her, as Jeremy called out a '_bye Rissa_'.

Marissa told them both '_bye_' as she stood up from the table. She looked over at her teacher, as she said,"Bye, Mr. Saltzman, see you at school."

Alaric nodded his head at her, as she walked by him to walk over to Caroline; who was waiting by the door for her, holding a brown paper bag full of food.

Many minutes later, Caroline and Marissa were walking up to the Gilbert house as Stefan was walking off the porch. He nodded his head toward the sisters and gave them a kind smile as he continued to walk away.

"Is everything okay?" Marissa asked Elena; who was still standing on the porch.

"Yeah." Elena said. "Stefan was just stopping by to say hi, but I told him this was girls night, so he had to leave." She lied.

"That's right, no men allowed." Caroline called out with a laugh.

"Exactly." Elena said with a laugh of her own, then added,"Come on in."

The three girls walked into the house, then made their way into the kitchen, where Bonnie was standing, waiting for them. They all stood around the counter, as Elena began to take the food out of the bag, that Caroline and Marissa brought.

None of the girls really knew what to say first, until finally Caroline spoke up, after Elena and Marissa shot her a look several looks.

"I'm sorry. There, I said it. If you want the ugly-ass necklace, keep it. It's yours."

"Will you hate me if I tell you I threw it away?" Bonnie asked Caroline.

"You threw it away?" Caroline asked with a shocked expression on her face.

"I know it sounds crazy but the necklace was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it." Bonnie explained.

"You could have just given it back to me." Caroline called out.

"Why? So you could give it back to Damon?" Marissa snapped.

"Screw Damon." Caroline said. Changing the subject, she said,"Are we doing manicures or what? Who has their kit?"

"Mine's in my bag." Bonnie said, as she pointed to her overnight bag, which was sitting in the next room on the couch.

"I'll get it." Marissa offered, needing a reason to leave the tense filled room.

"So Elena. How long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it...like a permanent thing?" Marissa heard her sister ask, as she walked over to Bonnie's bag and opened it up.

"I don't know, Caroline." Elena answered with a tired sigh.

"Um, Bonnie?" Marissa called out, as she looked inside the bag.

"Yeah?" Bonnie asked the younger girl.

"I thought you said you threw this away." Marissa asked, as she turned around to face the girls, holding the necklace in her hand.

"You are such a little liar, Bonnie." Caroline angrily called out.

"Caroline!" Marissa said, as she walked back into the room with her friends.

"I'm not lying, I swear." Bonnie said with a fearful look on her face.

"It's true, I watched her throw it into a field." Elena added.

"Then explain it." Caroline asked, as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Emily." Bonnie said matter-of-fact.

"Who's Emily?" Marissa asked confused.

"The ghost." Bonnie answered.

"The ghost has a name now?" Caroline asked sarcastically.

"Caroline, please." Elena said, as she held up her hand, asking her to be quiet as she looked over at Bonnie.

"I wonder why she won't leave me alone." Bonnie sadly said.

"What is going on? Why am I not a part of this conversation?" Caroline questioned. A hurt look appeared on her face, as she added,"You guys do this to me all the time."

Marissa looked over at her sister and felt bad for her. She was left out of a lot of conversations, but it wasn't on purpose, it was cause she was always so busy doing her own things, that she ended up missing a lot. Besides, Marissa knew she too, was left out of conversations, but it didn't bother her as much. She knew the older girls would explain things to her when the time was right.

"That's not true." Elena said to Caroline.

"Yes it is." Bonnie said, as she looked at Elena. She looked at Caroline, as she added,"I can't talk to you. You don't listen."

"That's not true." Caroline said, feeling offended.

"I'm a witch." Bonnie said seriously to Caroline.

"And don't we all know it?" Caroline said sarcastically.

"Caroline!" Marissa stated. She looked at Bonnie, giving her a genuine smile, as she added,"I think that's really cool, Bon."

Bonnie shot Marissa a grateful smile then looked at Caroline, as she said,"See? That's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to tell you something, you don't even hear it."

"I listen. When do I not listen?" Caroline called out, as Bonnie left the kitchen and walked into the living room.

"Care, you know I love you..." Marissa began to say, then continued,"But, sometimes you don't listen. Which is okay, cause that's just how you are and that's why we love you."

"You make me sound like a terrible person." Caroline sadly mumbled.

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Marissa quickly said, the last thing she wanted to do was upset her sister.

"What Rissa is trying to say is, you do so much, which is really great and between that and your own problems, you're too busy sometimes to listen to all of our problems. But you do make time for us the best you can, you're a great person, Care, and we love you." Elena explained.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say." Marissa said. She walked over to her sister, as she added,"You have always been there for me, Care, and I love you."

"I love you too, Ris." Caroline said, as she hugged her sister.

"Now, you should go talk to Bonnie and really listen to her." Marissa said after the hug. "She needs you, Care."

Elena looked over at the sisters and nodded her head in agreement, as Caroline said,"Okay, I'll talk to her."

Marissa and Elena watched on silently as Caroline walked into the living room to talk to Bonnie, they listened in as Caroline spoke up.

"Bonnie. Look, it's just not me. I don't believe in the... But if you do, then, okay, I'm in. That's all it takes for me to jump on board, because I consider you to be my best friend. And I'm saying this knowing that Rissa and Elena's in the kitchen listening to my every word." Caroline said with a laugh, then added,"Look, I didn't know how real this was for you, but I'm listening now. Okay?"

Bonnie gave her a smile, as Caroline spoke up and said,"Girls, you can come in now. We're done."

Marissa and Elena walked into the living room together, with smiles on their faces, they were glad to see that Bonnie and Caroline made up.

"There is just way too much drama in this room." Caroline said with a big sigh.

"Well let's change that and do something fun." Marissa suggested.

"I have an idea. Why don't we have a seance?" Caroline suggested with a smile.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Bonnie said with a worried look on her face.

"Why? I think it could be fun. Besides I always wanted to do a seance." Marissa stated.

"See, Rissa is on board." Caroline said to Bonnie and Elena. "Come on, let's summon some spirits. This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do."

It took a few more minutes to finally get Elena and Bonnie to agree, but finally all four girls made their way into Elena's bedroom and sat in a circle on the floor with candles all around them and the necklace on the floor in the middle of them.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked the girls.

"I don't know." Elena answered with a shrug.

"Maybe you should put on the necklace." Marissa suggested to Bonnie.

Bonnie cautiously picked up the necklace from the floor and slipped it around her neck, then looked at the three girls sitting around her, wondering what they should do next.

"Now what?" Marissa asked.

"Be quiet and concentrate." Caroline said. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath." Caroline waited until everyone did what she said, then continued,"Bonnie, call to her."

"Emily you there?" Bonnie asked still feeling unsure if they should even be doing this.

"Really? '_Emily you there?_' That's all you got?" Caroline asked sarcastically.

"Well what is she suppose to say?" Marissa asked with a laugh.

"You guys, maybe we shouldn't be doing this." Elena stated.

"No, we are doing this." Caroline said. "Try again Bonnie."

Bonnie closed her eyes and took deep breath to control her nerves, before saying,"Emily. I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen." She just hoped she sounded stronger than she felt.

Marissa, Caroline and Elena gasped in surprise and scooted back from the circle when the candles flamed up around them.

"Did that just-" Elena began to ask.

"Yeah, yeah it did." Marissa said at the same time Caroline said,"Yeah, it happened."

"It's just the air conditioning." Bonnie suggested, hoping it was true.

"Ask her to show you a sign." Marissa whispered.

After a few seconds of no one saying anything from fear, Caroline rolled her eyes, as she called out,"Emily if you're among us, show us another sign."

"See? It's not working." Bonnie said when at first nothing happened, until Elena's bedroom window suddenly opened, causing the girls to scream out loud.

"I can't. I'm done." Bonnie said, as she ripped the necklace off and threw it on the floor, causing the candles to go out.

"Get the light. Please get the light on." Marissa cried out, suddenly feeling very afraid.

"Hold on. I got it." Elena said, as she quickly stood up from the floor and turned on the bedroom light.

"You guys, the necklace, it's gone." Bonnie said with a fearful look on her face, as she looked down at the floor with the three other girls.

"Okay this isn't fun anymore." Marissa said, as she stood up from the floor and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You made your point, Caroline, give it back." Elena said, hoping Caroline was holding the necklace as a prank.

"What? I didn't take it." Caroline called out.

"Rissa?" Elena asked, as she looked over at the younger girl.

"I don't have it either." Marissa said, as she removed her arms to show her she didn't have anything.

"Well where is it?" Elena asked, as she looked around on the floor.

Bonnie glanced around the room and saw the necklace in the bathroom on the floor, she began to walk toward the bathroom as she said,"Guys..."

Elena, Marissa and Caroline looked over at Bonnie and saw her go into the bathroom and pick up the necklace. They began to walk toward her when the bathroom door slammed shut, locking Bonnie on the inside.

"You guys open the door! Help me!" Bonnie's muffled voice yelled on the other side.

The three other girls, beat on the door and tried their best to open it as they yelled out for their friend Bonnie, asking her what was going on and if she was okay.

"Try the other door." Elena said to Caroline. After Caroline ran to the other door, Elena looked at Marissa, as she said,"Stay here and I'll check the hallway."

After Elena ran into the hallway, the bathroom door opened up. Marissa looked at Bonnie with a worried look on her face, as Elena and Caroline ran back over to stand beside Marissa. The three girls were confused when Bonnie looked at them and appeared to be fine.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie, as she took a small step toward her.

"I'm fine." Bonnie said, not sounding like herself and causing Elena and Marissa to glance at each other in confusion.

"Unbelievable. You were totally faking it." Caroline angrily called out.

"I don't think she's faking." Marissa said, as she glanced at Bonnie, feeling concerned.

"Of course she was." Caroline said. She glanced at Bonnie, as she added,"You scared the hell out of me."

"Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine." Bonnie repeated. "Everything's fine."

"I can't believe I feel for it." Caroline snapped.

"Are you okay?" Marissa asked Bonnie.

"I must go." Bonnie said, as she walked past the girls and headed toward the stairs.

"She's leaving. We're leaving." Caroline said. She looked at her sister, as she said,"Come on, Rissa."

"You guys can't leave." Elena said to the girls.

"I can. I've had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night." Caroline called out.

"Thank you for having me. I'll take it from here." Bonnie said, as she began to walk down the stairs.

"Something's not right." Marissa said out loud.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked Bonnie, causing her to come to a stop.

Bonnie turned to look at Elena, as she said,"Back to where it all began."

"What does that mean? What's going on?" Marissa asked Elena, as Bonnie began to walk down the stairs again.

"Oh, my God." Elena breathed out, realizing what was going on.

"Bonnie." Elena called out, when that didn't stop the girl, she called out,"Emily!"

"I won't let him have it, It must be destroyed." Bonnie as Emily said, before she ran down the stairs and went out the front door.

"Wait!" Elena yelled, as she ran down the stairs, with the Forbes sisters running along behind her. Elena tried to open the front door, but was surprised when it wouldn't open.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked, as Elena continued to try to open the door.

"I don't know. The door, it's not..." Elena began to say, as the door popped open and Jeremy walked into the house.

"What the hell?" Jeremy asked, as he looked at the three scared girls.

"I'm out of here." Caroline said, finally having enough. She looked back at her sister and asked,"Are you coming?"

"I'm going to hang out here with Jeremy." Marissa said, as she grabbed Jeremy's arm fearfully. She still wasn't sure what had happened or what was going on.

"Okay, I'll see you at home." Caroline said to her sister. She looked at Elena, as she added,"Tell Bonnie when she's done playing fake witch pranks, she owes me an apology."

Elena nodded her head in shock, she was still worried about her friend Bonnie. Once Caroline was gone, Elena looked at her brother and Marissa, as she said,"I'm going to go check on Bonnie, I'll be back."

"Okay." The younger teens said, as Elena grabbed her cell phone and quickly called Stefan while walking out the front door.

"So what the hell were you girls doing?" Jeremy asked Marissa once they were alone.

"We were having a seance." Marissa admitted.

"Aren't you all a little too old to be believing in things like that?" Jeremy joked. "Did you all use a ouija board and talk to any dead celebrities?"

Marissa rolled her eyes and laughed, as she said,"No, it wasn't like that. Bonnie thinks she is being haunted by one of her ancestors, so we were trying to talk to her."

"And how did that work out for you?" Jeremy asked with a laugh.

"It was weird and creepy and something I'm never doing again." Marissa said, as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Aw, did wittle Rissa get scared." Jeremy teased, as he pinched her cheek.

"Stop that!" Marissa called out with a laugh, as she slapped his hand away, causing him to laugh.

"It's okay, I'll protect you from the dead ghost." Jeremy joked, as he hugged her to him.

"If you don't stop teasing me, I'm going home." Marissa said laughing, as she pushed him away from her.

Jeremy laughed at her, then held up his hands, as he said,"Alright, I'll stop."

"So you want to find your dad's stuff and see what we can find for your paper?" Marissa suggested.

"Yeah." Jeremy said. "Although I don't know where to even begin to look."

The two teens searched the whole house until they finally found a cardboard box in his late parents bedroom. It was located in the back of the closet.

Jeremy picked up the box then walked downstairs with it, with Marissa walking along behind him. He sat the box down on the table then opened it up and began to take things out.

They had been looking inside the box for a few minutes when the front door opened and Jenna walked in while laughing and talking with Alaric.

Marissa looked over at Jeremy with a knowing smile. They could both tell that Jenna liked Alaric and it seemed like he could like her back, which Marissa was happy about. After all the drama with Logan, Jenna deserved a good man in her life.

"You can...You know what? I'm not gonna invite you in." They heard Jenna said to Alaric. She nodded her head towrd the young teens, as she quietly added,"Jeremy and Rissa are here."

Alaric nodded his head in understanding, then said,"Well, some other time then. Have a good night, Jenna."

As Alaric walked away, Jenna closed the front door then walked over to her nephew and his friend, as she said,"So you found the boxes."

"Well, we found this one." Marissa said, as she laid the hands on the box.

"We found this too." Jeremy added, as he handed Jenna a picture of her and Logan during their dating days.

"Me and Logan. That's just cruel." Jenna said, as she placed the picture down on the table.

"Cruel is dating my history teacher." Jeremy joked.

"I'm not dating him." Jenna said, then added with a smile,"Yet."

Marissa laughed at her comment, causing Jenna to laugh with her, before saying,"Alright, you two kids have fun, I'm going to go take a hot relaxing bath."

"Bye, Jenna." Marissa said, as Jeremy waved at his aunt and began to dig inside the box again.

Once Jenna was gone, Marissa looked inside the box and took out an old looking book with string wrapped around it. She held it out to Jeremy, as she said,"Hey look at this."

Jeremy took the book from her hands, unwrapping it then opening it up. He flipped through a few pages, then said,"It looks like a journal."

"Really? That's cool." Marissa said. "Who wrote it?"

"Johnathan Gilbert." Jeremy answered. "It's from the 1800s."

"Cool, maybe you can find something in it for your paper." Marissa suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." Jeremy said, as he continued to flip through the book.

Before Marissa could say anything else, she heard her phone go off, letting her know she had a text. She pulled her phone out of her front pants pocket and quickly read the text.

"Well, guess I'm staying here tonight." Marissa said with a laugh.

"Why you say that?" Jeremy asked her, as he looked away from the book and waited for her to answer.

"Cause Matt is at my house with Caroline and she told me not to come home." Marissa said laughing, as she showed Jeremy the text,

"When did that happen?" Jeremy asked laughing. He never knew Caroline and Matt were hanging out.

"He took her home recently from a party and now I guess they're hanging out." Marissa explained.

"Well that's good, I guess." Jeremy said, as he waited to see what her reaction was about it.

"It's great, I really believe they will be good for each other." Marissa said, smiling. She honestly was happy for her sister.

"You want to head upstairs?" Jeremy asked, as he nodded his head toward the stairs.

"Yeah, after all that drama earlier, I'm ready for some sleep." Marissa said, as she began to walk over to the stairs.

"You want me to leave the light on so you can see the big bad ghost when it comes after you." Jeremy joked, as he walked behind her.

"Shut up, Jer." Marissa said laughing.

"It's okay, you can admit you're a scaredy cat." Jeremy teased.

"I'm not listening." Marissa said, trying to ignore him, as she walked up the stairs and headed toward his bedroom.

Jeremy walked along behind her, making ghost sounds, trying to scare her. She turned around and playfully hit him in the shoulder when he began to tickle her on the side and continued to make ghost sounds.

"That's it, I'm sleeping in Elena's room." Marissa said, as she pulled away from him and headed for Elena's closed bedroom door.

"Okay I'll quit." Jeremy said laughing, as he held up his hands.

"Nope, too late." Marissa said. She began to laugh when Jeremy picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down." Marissa squealed, as she kicked her legs and slapped him on the back with her hands.

Jeremy laughed and ignored her, as he walked into his bedroom and shut the door, he tossed Marissa on to his bed then fell down on the bed beside her. She laughed back and tried to sit up but Jeremy pulled her back down and began to tickle her again.

"Okay... okay... stop it!" Marissa called out in between laughter.

"Are you going to stay here and stop trying to leave?" Jeremy asked, as he held her down.

"Yes, I'll stay." Marissa said, as she rolled her eyes and laughed again.

"Good, now stop being stubborn." Jeremy warned playfully.

"You're mean sometimes, you know that, right?" Marissa joked.

"You know you love me." Jeremy said laughing, as he laid on his back.

"Yes I do." Marissa said, as she laid on his chest. Once she was comfortable, she added,"You're my best friend in the whole world."

"And you're my best friend." Jeremy said smiling, as he wrapped his arm around her. He always knew she loved him like a friend, like a brother, but he was still hopefully she would love him as more one day, the same way he loved her.

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_a/n - hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took me so long to get it posted, I was feeling kinda crappy earlier this week and feeling lazy lol. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to DamnWhoopsIMeantDamon, Emmettluver2010, KyroxIsxSmexy, Writteninthestars08, ArtemisLuna85 and Sage Londyn for reviewing the last chapter. Happy reading =)  
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	12. The Turning Point

**The Turning Point**

The next morning, Marissa softly moaned then rolled over from one side to her other side. She reached out to grab a pillow and pulled it to her chest, hoping to fall back into a deep sleep, but when she heard Jeremy chuckling quietly, she opened her eyes to see him sitting at his desk drawing. He stopped what he was doing when he heard her moving around.

"What are you doing awake already?" Marissa asked, as she sat up in the bed and yawned.

"You were snoring and it woke me up." Jeremy joked with a laugh.

"I do _not_ snore." Marissa called out, as she stood up from the bed and walked toward him.

"Yes you do. You were talking too." Jeremy said. "You talk more when you're asleep then you do when you're awake." He joked.

"Shut up, I do not." Marissa said laughing, as she lightly hit his shoulder. Changing the subject, she asked,"So what are you doing?"

"Just drawing." Jeremy said with a shrug like it was no big deal.

"Really? Marissa asked with a shocked expression on her face. She knew since his parents died, he had not even taken his sketchbook out, much less drew anything.

"Yeah, I actually kind of missed it." Jeremy admitted, as he began to draw again.

"That's really cool, Jer, I'm happy for you." Marissa said, as she rested her hands on his desk and watched as he continued to draw. She had always loved his artwork and loved to watch him draw, which he hated. He didn't like for anyone to look at anything until he was finished.

"Hey, you know the rules, Rissa. No peeking until I'm done." Jeremy said, as he used his hands to cover up the sketchbook.

"Fine." Marissa said, as she rolled her eyes and walked back over to his bed to sit down.

They sat silently together for a few minutes, until Elena appeared in the doorway. She smiled at the two teens inside the room, then said,"Hey, are you two ready to go to school?"

"I am." Jeremy answered.

"I'll grab my bag from downstairs and take a quick shower." Marissa said, as she stood up and walked toward Elena; who was still standing in the doorway.

"I put your bag in my room last night." Elena said to her.

"Okay, thanks." Marissa said, as she walked out into the hallway then made her way toward Elena's bedroom, with Elena walking behind her.

"Did I see right? Was Jeremy drawing?" Elena asked Marissa, as they walked into her bedroom.

"Yep, you saw right." Marissa said smiling.

"That's amazing." Elena said smiling back. "But we better not say anything, the minute we encourage him, he'll put it away."

"Got it." Marissa said laughing. "So how's Bonnie?" She questioned.

"She's fine." Elena lied. She felt it was best to not mention how Bonnie was possessed by Emily; who destroyed the necklace, causing Damon to attack Bonnie.

"Was she really faking it like Caroline thinks?" Marissa asked.

"I'm sorry, Rissa, but it was just a big joke. Bonnie and I thought it would be a funny prank, but it just got out of control." Elena said. She felt bad for lying again, but figured it was best for the younger girl to believe it was all fake instead of knowing the truth.

"Oh." Marissa mouthed. "Well I'm kind of glad it was fake, it was pretty scary."

"I'm sorry for scaring you." Elena said sincerely.

"It's okay." Marissa said with a shrug, like it was no big deal. "But I can't say that Caroline will be as forgiving, she was really mad about it all."

"I know." Elena sadly said. "Don't worry, Bonnie and I will apologize to her."

"Good, but you know Care, it's going to take more than a apologize." Marissa said with a laugh.

"We'll make it up to her." Elena promised.

"Alright, well, I'm going to go get ready for school." Marissa said, as she picked up her overnight bag from the floor.

"Okay, you know where everything is, so just use whatever and I'll see you downstairs." Elena said with a friendly smile.

Marissa nodded her head in thanks as Elena turned around and left her bedroom. Once alone in the room, she sat the bag on Elena's bed and dug out a pair of blue jeans, a black low cut shirt and a gray hoodie with black stars on it out of her bag then made her way into the bathroom to take a shower.

After the shower, she dried her blonde hair and left it down then borrowed some of Elena's make-up. After slipping on a pair of white tennis shoes, she made her way into the hall at the same time Jeremy walked into the hall, they smiled at each other before making their way downstairs together.

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Many minutes later, Elena pulled the car into the school parking lot then exited the car with Jeremy and Marissa. Jeremy waved '_bye_' to the girls as he made his way to the library to start on his history paper.

Once he was gone, Marissa and Elena walked across the parking lot toward the school building, they were laughing and joking around until Marissa saw Caroline and Matt walking toward the building.

She stopped walking and watched them with a smile on her face. She was beyond happy for her sister, she knew after what Caroline had been through with Damon that she needed a good guy and no one was better for her than Matt.

Elena, noticing Marissa looking at someone, stopped walking and saw the new couple talking. Even though she was happy for them, she was also surprised.

"Did I miss something?" Elena asked, as she and Marissa continued to watch Caroline and Matt.

Before Marissa could answer, Bonnie walked over to the two girls, as she said,"Hey, what are we looking at?"

"Caroline and Matt." Elena answered, as she nodded her head toward them.

"When did that happen?" Bonnie asked, she too was happy, yet surprised.

"That's what I was just asking." Elena added.

"They've been hanging out since that party at the grill." Marissa answered.

"Kind of weird, don't you think?" Elena asked.

"I don't think so." Marissa said. "I think they are great for each other."

"Yeah, besides after all the Damon stuff, Caroline needs a good guy." Bonnie added.

Marissa nodded her head in agreement as she watched Caroline and Matt walk inside the school building, laughing together. Once they were gone, she glanced off to the side and saw Tyler standing around with his friends.

When she caught his eye, she gave him a small smile but was surprised when he turned his head and began to talk to his friends again.

"I'm going to go inside, talk to you two later." Marissa said to Elena and Bonnie, as she tried not to let her disappointment show. She had thought she and Tyler were to the point where they would acknowledge each other in front of their friends, but she guessed she was wrong.

Marissa had only taken a few steps away from her friends, when she heard someone called out her name. She turned around and was surprised when she saw it was Tyler who had called out to her and was jogging toward her after leaving his friends.

"Hey, wait up." Tyler called out to her, as he walked toward her with a smile on his face.

"Hey." Marissa said smiling back in surprise.

"What's up?" Tyler asked, as they began to walk toward the school building together.

"Nothing much." Marissa said. "You know, you didn't have to leave your friends to come talk to me." She added, as she nodded her head toward where his friends were standing.

"I know, but I wanted to. Believe it or not, I actually like talking to you, Baby Forbes." Tyler said smiling, as he opened the door for her to walk inside.

"I like talking to you too, Lockwood." Marissa said smiling back, as they walked down the hallway beside each other.

"What happened to '_Big Lockwood'_?" Tyler joked.

Marissa laughed, then said,"That was a lame nickname, so I will just have to think of another one."

"Got one in mind yet?" Tyler asked.

"No, but I'll let you know when I do." Marissa said laughing again.

"Okay, just make sure it's something good and masculine. I have a reputation to uphold remember." Tyler joked.

"So Ty-Ty Bear is out of the question?" Marissa joked back.

"Yes, please never call me that, ever." Tyler said laughing.

"Got it." Marissa said laughing back, as she stopped at her locker and opened the door.

"What about '_Lucky Lockwood_'?" Tyler suggested.

Marissa laughed again as she took the books she would need out then shut the door, as she questioned,"And how are you lucky exactly?"

"Well I got you talking to me, that's pretty lucky." Tyler said, as he leaned against the lockers and stood close to her, their faces only inches apart.

"I think we're both lucky." Marissa softly said with a smile on her face.

"Yes, we are." Tyler said back, as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

Marissa bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him. Sometimes she still couldn't believe that she and Tyler had become friends. It was always a dream of hers that she hoped would come true and now it had.

She also had the chance to be more with him, all she had to do was take that step and the more she was around him, the more she thought about taking that step.

Before either one could say or do anything else, the bell rang, signaling the start of school.

Marissa took a small step back from him, as she said,"I better get to class, see you later?"

"Yeah, see ya, Baby Forbes." Tyler said, as he took a few steps away from her.

"Bye, Pookie Bear." Marissa called out with a laugh.

Tyler turned around and shook his head with a laugh, as he said,"Never call me that again either."

"Got it." Marissa said, then added,"Bye, Ty."

Tyler nodded his head at her and smiled as he turned around and walked down the hallway. Marissa smiled back as she watched him walk away, all she could think about was maybe she was finally ready for more with him.

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After school, Tyler and Matt were outside the school playing basketball, they figured since they had to be back at the school later that day for the career fair, they would stay at school and shoot some hoops instead of going home.

Tyler wasn't usually the type to gossip, but like everyone else he had noticed his best friend, Matt, hanging around with Caroline lately and he figured since they were alone, now would be a good time to find out what was going on.

"So what's up with you and older Forbes?" Tyler asked Matt, as he passed the basketball to him.

"Nothings up." Matt answered, as he threw the basketball in the air and watched it fall through the basketball hoop.

"I saw you two in the hall today. Don't even try to deny it, bro. You're tapping that." Tyler said, as he grabbed the basketball and began to bounce it in front of him.

"No, it's not like that!" Matt called out. Even though he wasn't sure what was going on with him and Caroline at the moment, he knew it wasn't about sex. He actually liked Caroline, although he wasn't going to admit that to Tyler.

"Never is. Until you become '_we_' people." Tyler pointed out, as he bounced the basketball a few more times then passed it back to Matt.

Matt caught the basketball, a confused look appeared on his face, as he asked,"'_We_' people?"

"Yeah, '_we can't make it to the party_'; '_we'll never miss a game_'; '_we don't like the color red_'." Tyler said sarcastically.

"We hung out like twice " Matt explained.

"Like I said '_we_'." Tyler added with a laugh.

"Well what about you and Rissa? What's going on there?" Matt asked, as he passed the basketball to Tyler.

"We're friends." Tyler simply said, as he threw the ball toward the basketball hoop.

Matt laughed as he jogged toward the basketball once it went through the hoop. He tossed the basketball toward Tyler then said,"Sounds like you and Rissa are '_we_' people now too."

"Whatever, man." Tyler mumbled, as he looked straight ahead and saw Marissa walking toward the parking lot. He threw the basketball toward Matt, then said,"I'll be right back."

Matt caught the basketball then turned around to see Tyler jogging toward Marissa. He bounced the basketball in front of him with a knowing smile. He knew Tyler had it bad for Marissa, even if he wasn't ready to admit it to him yet.

Marissa glanced around the parking lot looking for her sister. They had just enough time to get home, eat a quick meal then get back to the school for career day.

Caroline also wanted to change clothes, but if she didn't show up soon so they could go home, Marissa knew she wouldn't have enough time to change before Bonnie showed up to take them all to the career fair.

She was so lost in thought, looking for Caroline, she almost didn't hear Tyler as he jogged up behind her.

"Hey, Baby Forbes."

"Hey, Stinky." Marissa joked, as she wrinkled up her nose.

"Nope, don't like that nickname either." Tyler said laughing, as he stood in front of her.

"Well don't be all sweaty and stinky and I won't call you that." Marissa said laughing back.

"Hey, I'm not that sweaty and I definitely don't stink." Tyler said, acting like he was offended.

"I beg to differ." Marissa joked.

"That's it, get over here." Tyler said, as he wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her body closer to his.

"No!" Marissa called out in between laughter. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you a sweaty hug." Tyler said laughing, as he wrapped his other arm around her and held her tight.

"Ew, gross, Ty, get away." Marissa said laughing back, as she placed her hands on his chest and playfully pushed him away.

"You don't like my hugs?" Tyler asked with a fake hurt look on his face.

"Not sweaty hugs." Marissa pointed out. "Now I'm going to have to take a shower before the career thing tonight."

"I meant to ask you about that earlier, if you were coming to the career fair tonight." Tyler said.

"Yeah, I'll be here. Mom expects me and Caroline to already have our futures planned out now the way she did when she was our age." Marissa said sarcastically.

"So I guess that means you have no idea what you want to do with your life either, huh?" Tyler asked.

"No clue at all." Marissa said with a sigh. From the moment she started high school, her mom had been on her case about finding a career, but she still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, which her mom wasn't happy about.

"Yeah, same here." Tyler admitted.

"Well I guess we'll figure out what we want when the time is right." Marissa said.

"I have a really good idea what I want..." Tyler began to say, as he took a step toward her. He rested his hands on her hips, as he added,"I'm just waiting on the other person to figure out what they want."

Marissa bit her lower lip and looked down at the ground at his comment, she knew he was talking about her, but what he didn't know was, she did know what she wanted, she was just scared to go for it.

She raised her head to look at him, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she glanced at his lips then looked into his eyes before softly saying,"Maybe the other person does know what they want, Ty."

"Really?" Tyler asked with a surprised expression on his face.

"Really." Marissa said smiling.

Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, they heard Caroline calling for her.

Marissa continued to smile at him, as she began to walk backwards, then said,"See you tonight, Tyler."

"See ya." Tyler said with a grin on his face, as he watched her turn around then walk over to Caroline. He could tell they were close to starting something, he just hoped he didn't do anything to screw it up like always.

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A few hours later, Marissa, Caroline and Bonnie walked inside the high school for the career fair. Within minutes, both girls walk off; Caroline to find Matt and Bonnie to find Elena, leaving Marissa alone.

She glanced around the hallway, hoping to find someone she knew but was having no luck. She had only taken a few steps when she heard someone walk up behind her, she turned around and tried not to groan when she noticed it was her mom.

"Hey, honey, have you found any potential careers yet?" Liz asked her youngest daughter.

"Not yet, I just got here, Mom." Marissa answered with a sigh.

"Well make sure you look at every booth, this is important, Marissa, your future is important." Liz said. "I don't what you to use this night as an excuse to hang out with your friends, okay?"

"Alright, Mom." Marissa mumbled, as she fought hard not to roll her eyes.

"Good, also don't wander off alone, okay?" Liz said to her.

"Why? Is something going on?" Marissa asked with a concern look on her face. She knew the town had a problem with animal attacks recently and she hoped it wasn't starting to happen again.

"No, of course not." Liz lied. "It's just important not to go off alone. Remember what I've always told you-"

"Yeah, I remember." Marissa said, interrupting her. She wasn't in the mood to hear her mom's speech again about how most abductions happened to young girls so it was best to always have friends around, safety in numbers, was always her mom's motto and something she had heard her whole life.

Before Liz could say anything else to her daughter, Jeremy walked up and stood beside Marissa. He could tell from across the room that she needed help getting away from her mother.

Marissa and Caroline both had never really got alone with their mom. Liz had always been into her career more than her family, even when their dad, Bill, left, Liz threw herself even deeper into her work, leaving the sisters to take care of each other. The sisters knew deep down their mom loved them, she just loved her job even more.

"Hey, Rissa, hey, Sheriff Forbes." Jeremy said to them.

Marissa gave Jeremy a relieved smile, as Liz said,"Hello, Jeremy."

"I was wondering if it was okay if I could borrow Rissa for a second, there is something I need to show her." Jeremy asked Liz, hoping to save Marissa from her mother.

"Of course, you two have fun and please watch over her, Jeremy." Liz said to him.

"Yes, ma'am." Jeremy said with a polite smile on his face, as they watched Liz walk away.

"Thank you for that." Marissa said smiling at Jeremy, as she wrapped an arm around his back.

"No problem, I know talking to your mom is not a favorite pastime of yours." Jeremy said laughing, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him.

"No, it is not." Marissa agreed. "I just don't get it, 99% of the time she doesn't even care about what is going on in my life, but then out of the blue, she'll pop up and force me to do things. Like this stupid career fair."

"I get it, believe me. Elena and Jenna, both, dragged me here." Jeremy said.

Marissa sighed, then said,"Why can't everyone just let us decide what we want to do, when we want to do it."

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders, not having an answer for her, then changed the subject and said,"Come on, let's go look around."

"Right and plan our futures." Marissa said sarcastically, causing Jeremy to laugh as they began to walk around.

For the next few minutes, Marissa and Jeremy walked around, looking at the different booths set up, talking about any career you could ever think of.

As they walked by a booth talking about how rewarding it would be to go into a medical career, Marissa looked at Jeremy and said,"Hey, do you remember when you wanted to be a doctor?"

"Correction, I wanted to play doctor, not be a doctor." Jeremy joked.

"Ew! Gross, Jer." Marissa called out, as she playfully shoved him away from her.

Jeremy laughed as he walked back over to her, then said,"I'm kidding and yes I remember that. That only lasted for about a week, then I wanted to be a superhero, remember?"

"How could I forget that." Marissa said laughing. "You grabbed my favorite pink blanket, wrapped it around your neck like a cape, then climbed on to my roof, yelling about how you were going to fly and no one could stop you."

"Hey, that was your fault. You're the one who told me that the blanket was magical." Jeremy added.

"I was six, Jer, at that age, I thought everything was magical." Marissa pointed out with a laugh.

Jeremy laughed back, then said,"But I do remember you were the one who talked me down. If it wasn't for you, I would have jumped and broke everything in my body."

Marissa smiled at him, then said,"Yeah, well, like I've always told you, Jer, I've got your back."

"And I've got yours, always." Jeremy said smiling, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Hey maybe you could be a counselor or something, you're good at helping people. Unless you still wanted to be a vet."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that. You remember that time that I helped nurse that litter of kittens when the mama cat abandoned them?" Marissa asked, as she thought back to all the times she had helped the animals in her neighborhood, including the three little kittens.

"Yeah I remember. I also remember that you wanted to keep the kittens but your mom made you give them all away." Jeremy added.

"Yeah I remember that too." Marissa said sadly. She had always been an animal lover, but her mom had never let her have a pet. Liz always felt like she wasn't responsible enough to have a pet.

"So you think you might want to do that, be a vet?" Jeremy asked her.

"I dunno." Marissa said with a shrug, then added,"I also wanted to be a princess, rockstar and actress too, so who knows."

"Oh, God." Jeremy groaned. "I remember the princess phase. You constantly wore dresses and a tiara, and made everyone call you 'Princess Rissa'."

Marissa laughed at the memory, then said,"Yeah but no one called me that, but you."

"Well I didn't want to let me best friend down." Jeremy said smiling.

"Thank you for that." Marissa said, then asked,"What about you? Are you going to be a doctor or a superhero?"

Jeremy laughed, then said,"Neither."

"What about something to do with drawing? You're really good and I know you love it." Marissa said, as she glanced over at a table that held different drawings done by different people in school, before she looked back over at Jeremy and waited for him to answer.

"I don't know, maybe." Jeremy answered, as he looked over at the table she was looking at. He lowered his eyebrows in confusion as he watched Tyler walk over to the table and began to look at all the drawings laid out.

Seeing Jeremy's expression, Marissa looked back over at the table and was surprised as well to see Tyler. She never knew he was into art, of course she never asked him, but he also never mentioned it to her either.

She thought about walking over to him to speak to him, but before she could, Jeremy began to walk toward him. She rolled her eyes and began to follow Jeremy, she hoped they wouldn't get into a fight right now, but knew more than likely it would happen.

"What do you want?" Tyler asked Jeremy, when he noticed him standing beside him.

"Hey, I'm just surprise to see you here. Art usually implies culture and culture implies, well, not you." Jeremy said with a small laugh, as Marissa walked over to the two boys.

Marissa, hearing Jeremy's comment, shot him a dirty look which he ignored as he continued to look at Tyler, waiting for him to say something back. He didn't have to wait long when Tyler mumbled 'go to hell' before walking off.

"Jeremy, why did you say that?" Marissa asked with a disappointed look on her face.

"What? I was kidding." Jeremy answered.

"No, you wasn't." Marissa said, as looked down at the piece of paper that Tyler had been looking at. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Tyler's signature at the bottom of the page. She couldn't believe that not only was he into art, but he also could draw and from the looks of the picture she was looking at, he could draw really well.

"Jeremy, look." Marissa said, as she pointed at Tyler's signature. She watched as Jeremy looked at the paper with a shocked look on his face.

"Looks like you two have something in common." Marissa said to him.

She didn't wait for him to say anything, as she turned to walk away from him to search for Tyler. She had hoped to find him and apologize for Jeremy's comment, but she didn't get far when Caroline ran over to her with a excited look on her face.

"Hey, there you are." Caroline said when she saw her sister. She lightly grabbed her arm, then said,"Come with me, I want to show you something."

Before Marissa could say anything, Caroline dragged her over to a booth about broadcast journalism. Caroline excitedly pointed to the booth as she said "Ta-da".

"I don't get it." Marissa said, as she looked at her sister with a confused look on her face. "What am I looking at?"

"My future, this is what I want to do." Caroline said smiling.

"Really?" Marissa asked.

"Really." Caroline said, then asked,"Why? Do you think it's stupid?"

"No, I think it's amazing, Care." Marissa said smiling. She was happy that her sister knew exactly what she wanted to do and she would do all she could to help it come true for her.

"Really?" Caroline asked, wanting to make sure.

"Really and it makes sense." Marissa said. "You remember when we were kids and you would play 'reporter'?"

"Oh yeah." Caroline said laughing at the memory. One year for Christmas, Caroline had gotten a hand held tape recorder with a microphone attached to it. She had used it for months, pretending to be a reporter as she interviewed Marissa and Jeremy constantly about different things.

"You would make a great reporter, Care." Marissa said, as she wrapped an arm around her sister and hugged her.

"Thanks." Caroline said smiling. "Okay, I'm going to go grab mom and show her."

"I'm sure she'll be just as excited as we are." Marissa said, then added,"So I guess since you've got your future planned out, I need to go plan mine."

"Don't worry, Ris, whatever you decide to do, you'll be great at it and you know if you ever need help, I'm here for you." Caroline said.

"Thanks, Care." Marissa said smiling. She knew she could always count on Caroline to let her make her own choices and not push anything on her.

Caroline smiled back, then said,"Alright, I'm off to find mom. Talk to you later."

Marissa watched Caroline walked through the crowd of people before she turned around and walked in the opposite direction. She was still searching for Tyler.

Unfortunately, she didn't have to look much longer before she saw Tyler and Jeremy down the hall fighting. She sighed then quickly made her way toward them, hoping to stop them before the fight got out of hand. She pushed past the people standing in the hall as she tried to get to them, thankfully she saw Mr. Saltzman and Mayor Lockwood breaking up the fight as she finally made it down the hall.

"You two, follow me!" Richard said, as he pointed at his son and Jeremy.

Marissa opened her mouth to ask him where he was taking them, but before she could, Alaric beat her to it,"Excuse me, Mayor. Where are you taking them?"

"I'm gonna talk to them. All fights should end with handshakes, don't you think?" Richard answered.

As he led Jeremy and Tyler down the hall to take them outside, Marissa glanced over at Alaric, as she said,"I have a bad feeling about this."

"So do I." Alaric mumbled, as he began to walk down the hall with Marissa following along behind him.

Once outside, Alaric and Marissa made their way toward the side of the building. As they turned the corner, they saw Mayor Lockwood, push Tyler into Jeremy and yell at them to fight.

Marissa gasped in surprise as she watched. She couldn't believe that Tyler's own father was pushing him to fight.

"What's going on out here?" Alaric asked, as he walked closer to the Mayor and two teen boys.

"Letting these two kids work it out. We're good here." Richard said, then he looked at Alaric and Marissa; who was standing behind Alaric. "You two go back inside." He added.

"I don't wanna go back inside. What I want is an answer to my question. What's going on out here?" Alaric asked again, as he took another step forward, letting the Mayor know he wasn't intimidated by him.

"Who do you think you're talking to? Do I look like a student?" Richard asked Alaric, as he looked at him with a angry look on his face.

Marissa, Tyler and Jeremy stood still, as they watched and waited to see what Alaric would do or say. Marissa and Jeremy were shocked at the situation, while Tyler was use to it. Only he knew how his father really was and he wasn't the sweet, caring and loving family man like everyone thought.

"No. You look like a full grown alpha male douchebag." Alaric said with a smirk on his face, causing Marissa and Jeremy to quietly chuckle.

"Don't talk to me like that. I could have you job like this." Richard said, as he took a step toward Alaric and snapped his fingers.

"Ah, you do that and then it will be you and me in this parking lot, working things out. You cool with that?" Alaric said to him, as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Just watch yourself." Richard said to him, as he pointed a finger toward him. He turned around to look at Tyler, giving him a look telling him to come with him.

As the Mayor began to walk away, Tyler began to walk with him until Marissa stepped in front of him, keeping him from leaving. She looked at him with a concern look on her face, as she asked quietly,"Are you okay, Ty?"

Tyler looked into her eyes and felt the need to open up to her, tell her everything he has to go through while living with his dick of a father. Never in his life had he wanted to open up and let anyone in until her, and that thought scared him. He was unsure what to say or do, but before he could say anything, his dad called for him.

"I got to go." Tyler mumbled to her, as he walked past her to follow his dad back toward the front of the school.

Marissa turned around to look at Jeremy, she took a step toward him, as she asked,"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jeremy answered. He looked at Alaric, as he added,"Thanks."

"No problem." Alaric said, then added,"I'll see you two inside."

Marissa and Jeremy watched as Alaric walked toward the front of the building, only then did they release a breath they had been holding.

"This career fair did not turn out the way I thought." Marissa said, as Jeremy stood beside her.

"No, it didn't." Jeremy agreed. "I know one thing though, I am ready to get out of here."

"Me too." Marissa said with a short laugh.

"I'm going to go find Jenna and Elena, you want a ride home?" Jeremy asked her.

"Yeah, let me go find Caroline or Bonnie and let them know." Marissa said.

"Alright, meet you out front?" Jeremy suggested.

"Yeah." Marissa said, as they walked together to the front of the building then went inside.

Once inside the school, Marissa and Jeremy split up; him to find his sister and aunt, and her to find her sister or ride for the night, Bonnie.

After looking inside for a few minutes and not seeing either girl, Marissa made her way back outside to look. She pulled out her cell phone to call her sister, when she saw her standing on the sidewalk near the parking lot. She placed her phone back into her front pants pocket as she began to walk over to Caroline.

"Hey." Marissa said to Caroline, as she walked up behind her.

"Hey, have you seen Bonnie?" Caroline asked, as she turned around to face her sister.

"Not since we got here, why?" Marissa asked.

"Cause I'm ready to go home, this whole career thing is lame." Caroline answered.

"What happened?" Marissa asked, when she saw the disappointed look on her sister's face.

"Mom happened." Caroline answered.

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked, with a confused look on her face.

"When I showed mom what I wanted to do, like always, she wasn't supportive." Caroline answered.

"I'm sorry, Care." Marissa said, as she wrapped an arm around her sister.

"It's okay, at least I have you." Caroline said, as she hugged her back.

"Yes, you do." Marissa said smiling.

The two sisters pulled away from each other and turned to look beside them when they heard a car pull up beside them.

"Hey, damsels in distress, need a ride?" Logan asked them, as he rolled down his window.

"Oh, my God. Logan Fell, channel 9, is that you?" Caroline asked sarcastically.

"Like can we have your autograph?" Marissa added with a laugh.

"I used to baby sit you two. Don't mock me!" Logan joked.

"Well, we were supposed to get a ride from Bonnie but we can't find her." Caroline said to him.

"It's not a problem, really. It's on the way." Logan said. He gave them a smile, as he added,"Get in you two."

"Actually, I'm going to catch a ride with Jeremy." Marissa said. As much as she was ready to go home, she really wanted to find Tyler and check on him first.

"You sure?" Caroline asked her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Go ahead, I'll see you at home." Marissa said, as she hugged Caroline then watched her get inside the car before she turned around and walked back toward the school, never once seeing Logan knock Caroline out, but she did quickly turn around with a confused look on her face when she noticed Logan speeding out of the parking lot.

"Weird." Marissa mumbled to herself, as she began to walk toward the school again. She had only taken a few steps when she noticed Tyler sitting on top of one of the many picnic tables toward the side of the school.

Wanting to check on him, she turned and began to walk toward him. She didn't say anything at first as she sat down beside him on top of the table then cautiously reached out to grab his hand, letting him know she was there for him.

After a few silent minutes, Marissa softly asked,"Tyler, are you okay?"

Tyler finally turned to look at her, he couldn't stand the way she was looking at him, like she felt sorry for him and as much as he wanted to open up to her, he just couldn't do it.

All his life the only person he could count on was himself and at the moment, he just wasn't ready to let anyone in, he was too scared to show her how he really was. If she knew the real him, he was worried she would run away and never look back.

"I'm fine." Tyler snapped, as he pulled his hand away from her and stood up from the table.

"Are you sure?" Marissa asked, as she stood up and walked toward him. "Cause that stuff earlier with your dad was weird, I mean is he always like that?"

"Just let it go, Rissa." Tyler hissed, as he turned away from her.

"No, Ty, just talk to me, okay? I'm here for you." Marissa said, as she lightly grabbed his arm to turn him around.

"I-I can't. I can't deal with this right now." Tyler said, as he tried to pull away from her and tried to avoid looking at her.

"Tyler!" Marissa called out, trying to get him to look at her. He finally raised his head to look at her, once she had his attention she said,"Is that how he always treats you? Has he-Has he ever hurt you?"

"Stop it, okay? Just stop it!" Tyler yelled out, as he turned away from her again. He could slowly feel the wall he had put up around himself break away and was finding it harder and harder to push her away, but he knew he had to, he couldn't let her in.

"No, talk to me." Marissa agreed, as she tried to grab his arm again.

Tyler quickly turned around and grabbed both of her arms before he called out,"Leave me alone."

Marissa tried to pulled her arms away from him, as she said,"Ouch, Tyler, you're hurting me."

Tyler was so lost in his anger, he didn't hear her, as he yelled,"I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity, Ty, I just want to help you." Marissa called out before crying out in pain as he squeezed her arms.

"I don't need your help and I don't need you." Tyler spat out, as he pushed her away from him harder than he meant to, causing her to fall to the ground.

Marissa looked up at him in surprise, but before she could say anything, she heard someone running toward her. She looked behind her to seeing Jeremy coming toward them and heading straight for Tyler. Jeremy didn't say anything, as he laid his hands on Tyler's chest and pushed him back.

"Jeremy, don't." Marissa cried out, as she stood up from the ground. She took a few steps to stand in between them, but before she could, Tyler lashed out and punched Jeremy in the face.

"No!" Marissa yelled out angrily, as she ran over to them and pushed Tyler away from Jeremy.

Tyler blinked his eyes and looked at them, as if seeing them for the first time. he couldn't believe everything he just said and did. He looked at the angry expression on Marissa's face and knew he had screwed up, unfortunately he had no idea how to fix it.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" Jeremy asked him, as he rubbed his sore jaw.

"I don't know. Okay. I don't know." Tyler said sincerely, as he took a couple of steps back from them. Before Marissa or Jeremy could say anything else, Tyler turned around and walked away without another word.

Once Tyler was gone, Marissa and Jeremy turned to look at each other, as Marissa asked him,"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, are you? He pushed you pretty hard." Jeremy said, feeling angry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Marissa said. "But it's not his fault, Jer, I was just trying to get him to open up to me and he lashed out."

"It is his fault, Ris, don't make excuses for him." Jeremy argued.

"I'm not, Jeremy, I'm just speaking the truth. I honestly believe that Tyler goes through a lot more than we ever thought." Marissa sadly said.

"No matter what he does go through, he shouldn't treat you like that." Jeremy pointed out.

"I know you're right, I'm just worried about him." Marissa softly said. "Besides, it was weird how he was acting, don't you think?"

Jeremy opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say a word, they heard Elena calling out their names, as she and Stefan walked over to them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Elena asked them, as she stood in front of them.

"Just dealing with a moody Tyler, nothing new." Jeremy answered with a shrug like it was no big deal.

"People are just weird tonight." Marissa added. "First it was that crap with the Mayor, then Logan Fell speeding out of the parking lot with Caroline and now Tyler's temper tantrum."

"Must be the full moon." Jeremy joked.

"Wait, did you say Caroline is with Logan?" Elena asked with a concern expression.

"Logan as in Logan Fell?" Stefan added with the same look on his face.

"Yeah, why?" Marissa asked beginning to get worried.

Stefan and Elena shared a look before he turned around and walked off without another word. Elena looked back at her brother and Marissa, as she said,"Everything is fine. Why don't you two go find Jenna and we'll head home soon."

"Okay." Jeremy mumbled, as Elena turned around and ran off to find Stefan.

"And the weirdness continues." Marissa said.

Jeremy chuckled, then said,"Come on, let's head back."

Marissa nodded her head in agreement as she and Jeremy began to walk toward the school building. Once they made it to the front of the school, Marissa saw her mom glancing around, like she was looking for someone.

"Mom?" Marissa called out, as she walked toward her.

"There you are, where have you been? I've been looking for you." Liz said in a frantic voice when she saw her daughter.

"Why? What's wrong?" Marissa asked.

"It's Caroline." Liz said with a worried look.

"Oh, God, what happened? Is she okay?" Marissa asked, as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"I'll explain everything on the way, but we got to go now." Liz said, as she lightly grabbed her daughter's hand and began to walk toward the parking lot. With Logan already taking one of her girls, she wasn't going to take any chances on him taking her other daughter.

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><em>

Many minutes later, after Marissa and Liz left, Tyler walked across the parking lot alone. He still couldn't believe he yelled at Marissa the way he did, he honestly didn't mean to.

He was just mad and didn't know why, but regardless of his mood, he knew he should have never taken it out on her, but regrettably he did and now he was sure she would never forgive him. He couldn't help but be disappointed about that fact, he found himself feeling upset at the thought of losing her as a friend.

He had lots of friends, but none like her, she was the only one who actually acted like she cared about him and honestly wanted to know how he was feeling. To his other friends, he was just the outgoing jock who loved to have a good time, but she saw him as more and wanted to actually know him, the real him and even though that thought scared him, he found himself starting to warm up to the idea of opening up to her.

_'Too bad I screwed that up'_. Tyler thought to himself, as he leaned against Matt's truck and waited for him to show up. He didn't have to wait much longer, before he saw Matt walking toward the truck.

"I need a ride." Tyler said to Matt, when he got closer.

"Sure." Matt said, as he began to walk toward the driver side. He stopped and look at Tyler, as he said,"Look, I like Caroline. She's got this thing… this way about her… and I like her, okay? I'm not gonna defend it or apologize about."

"Okay." Tyler said with a shrug.

"So stop your little bromance bitch act." Matt added.

"Okay." Tyler said again.

Matt began to walk toward the driver's side door then paused again. He looked at Tyler, as he asked,"Hey, is everything okay with you, man?"

Tyler shrugged, then mumbled,"I screwed up."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked him, confused.

"I screwed up with Rissa." Tyler explained.

"You really like her, don't you?" Matt asked with a knowing smile.

Tyler nodded his head, then said,"Yeah, but it doesn't matter. Like I said, I screwed up and she'll probably never talk to me again."

"What?" Tyler asked, when Matt shook his head and chuckled.

"Trust me man, it takes a lot to really piss Rissa off." Matt answered. "Whatever you did, just talk to her, apologize or whatever. I bet she'll forgive you."

"You really think so?" Tyler asked, as he tried not to get his hopes up.

Matt nodded his head, then said,"The Rissa I know, has a big heart and is very forgiving. As long as you're honest and open with her, she'll see that and then you'll be surprise how quick she can forgive. She always gives her friends the benefit of the doubt and second chances if needed."

"Good to know." Tyler mumbled.

"So you want to go talk to her?" Matt asked.

"Now?" Tyler asked surprised, as much as he wanted to talk to her now, he wondered if he should give her time to cool off first.

"Yeah, why not?" Matt asked. "Besides I was thinking of going to go talk to Caroline." He added.

Tyler thought about it for a second, then said,"Yeah, let's do it."

Matt smiled then said,"Alright, let's go man."

As Matt got behind the wheel, Tyler faintly smiled as he opened the passenger side door. He knew what he needed to do, he needed to be as open and honest with Marissa as he could and just hope that was enough for her to forgive him, cause the only thing he was sure of was that he did not want to lose her from his life.

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><em>

After leaving the parking lot, Liz quickly filled her youngest daughter in on what was going on with Caroline, although she didn't know much at the time, just that Logan had taken Caroline.

Thankfully, many minutes later, Damon had called Liz to let her know that Caroline was okay and Stefan was taking her home. Liz breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him before quickly heading toward the house.

Before Liz could turn off the car, Marissa jumped out of the car and ran toward the house. She swung the door open and saw Stefan standing in the living room. She gave him a smile to thank him then ran toward Caroline's bedroom. Even though her mom said Caroline was okay, she had to see it for herself.

Once at the bedroom, Marissa slowed down to a walk and took a few steps inside the room. As she watched Caroline rest, she slowly released the breath she had been holding. She continued to watch her sister sleep silently for a few more minutes, until she heard the front door shut, which she assumed was Stefan leaving, then heard her mom walk up behind her.

"She's okay." Marissa whispered to her mom with a relieved smile on her face.

"I told you she was okay." Liz whispered back.

"I know, but I needed to see it for myself." Marissa said softly, then added with tears in her eyes,"I don't know what I would do if I ever lost Care."

Liz lifted her arm, ready to hug her daughter and tell her everything would be okay, but before she could, her cell phone began to ring. She turned away from her daughters as she answered the call. She listened to the caller on the other end, then said,"Yeah, I'll be right there."

As Liz began to walk out of Caroline's bedroom, Marissa followed her, as she asked,"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, hon, but I have to get back out there." Liz said with an apologetic smile.

Marissa scoffed and folded her arms across her chest, as she said,"Why am I not surprised."

"I'm sorry." Liz said again, as much as she hated to leave her girls, she had to get back out there and deal with the Logan drama before the whole town found out what really happened.

"I know, just like you're always sorry when you leave us when we need you the most." Marissa said sarcastically. "Don't worry, Mom, Care and I will take care of ourselves, just like always."

Liz gave her a pained look. She knew her daughter was right, she was always leaving her girls when they needed her and as much as she hated to do it, she knew they would be okay as long as they had each other while she was out saving everyone from vampires and things that go bump in the night.

By protecting the whole town, she was also protecting her daughters, even if they didn't see it that way.

"Call me if you need anything." Liz softly said, as she turned around and walked out of the house.

Marissa stared at the closed front door for a moment, then turned around and walked back into Caroline's bedroom. She quietly walked across the floor then sat down on the edge of the bed as she lightly brushed Caroline's hair off of her forehead and looked at the cut on her forehead.

She still couldn't believe Logan had attacked her sister. They had known Logan all of their lives and he had never been the violent type.

Marissa slowly stood up and walked into the bathroom to grab a wet wash rag and a band-aid before making her way back into the bedroom. She sat back down on the bed and softly began to wipe away the dried blood off of Caroline's forehead, causing her to moan as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Ris?" Caroline whispered, as she looked up at her sister.

"Hi, Care." Marissa said, smiling.

"What happened?" Caroline asked.

"Logan attacked you." Marissa answered.

"Why?" Caroline asked confused.

"I wish I knew." Marissa answered honestly. "How are you feeling?" She asked with a concern look on her face.

"My head hurts." Caroline moaned.

"I know." Marissa said. "Here let me bandage it for you."

"Thank you." Caroline whispered, as Marissa carefully placed the band-aid over the cut.

"Do you need anything?" Marissa asked.

Caroline shook her head, as she said,"I just want to sleep."

"Okay." Marissa said, as she stood up from the bed. "I'll let you rest, but I'll come check on you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay." Caroline mumbled, as she closed her eyes.

Marissa stood still for a moment and watched as Caroline fell into a deep sleep before turning around and walking to her bedroom.

As she changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She should had went with Caroline to protect her or at least talked her out of getting into the car with Logan.

The last thing she wanted to do was lose her sister, she was basically the only family member she could count on.

After getting ready for bed, Marissa left her bedroom and walked over to Caroline's room again to check on her, but before she could walk inside the room, she heard a light knock at the front door.

She lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she walked toward the door. She had no idea who could be at their house this late at night.

Marissa looked out the window above the door and smiled when she noticed it was Matt standing on the other side, but what she couldn't see was Tyler; who was standing off to the side, hiding in the shadows.

He figured if he was out of sight, she would open the door for Matt.

"Hey, what are you doing here so late?" Marissa asked Matt, as soon as she opened the door, still not seeing Tyler.

"I was hoping to talk to Caroline, if that's okay." Matt answered.

Marissa smiled as she stepped aside to let him. "Go ahead, she's in her room. She's resting, but I'm sure she would love to see you." She said.

"Thanks." Matt said, as he walked inside the house and headed toward Caroline's bedroom.

While Marissa watched Matt walk toward the bedroom, Tyler stepped up and stood in front of the door. After Matt walked into Caroline's room, Marissa turned her head back toward the door, getting ready to close it, then gasped in surprise when she saw Tyler standing in front of her.

"Jeez, you scared me." Marissa said, as she placed a hand over her heart and tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry." Tyler said. "Can we talk?" He softly asked.

"It's a little late, Tyler. Go home." Marissa said, as she began to shut the front door. After everything that happened tonight, the last thing she wanted was another argument with Tyler.

Tyler stood still as he watched her closing the door, a part of him knew he should just leave and give up, but a bigger part of him wanted to stay and fight for her, help her understand what he was thinking and feeling. He was finally ready to open up to her and hope she would forgive him.

Tyler threw his hand out and stopped the door from shutting, as he said,"No, I'm not going."

"What?" Marissa angrily asked, as she opened the door back up to look at him.

"Look, I know I should do what you said and just go home, forget about everything, but I can't do that, Rissa. I can't walk away from you, so just please hear me out."

Marissa sighed as she turned around to grab the off-white fleece throw blanket from the back of the couch. She wrapped the small blanket around her shoulders then stepped out on to the porch and pulled the front door shut behind her.

"Okay. What do you want to say, Ty?" Marissa asked, as she turned her head to the side and looked at him with an annoyed look on her face.

"I'm sorry... about tonight, I didn't mean to snap at you or punch Jeremy. I just-"

"It's fine." Marissa said, interrupting him.

"Really?" Tyler asked with a surprised look on his face. "You sure? Cause it seemed like you were pretty pissed at me afterwards and you still look pissed now actually."

Marissa rolled her eyes and sighed, as she said,"I'm not pissed, Tyler. Sadly I'm starting to get used to it."

"Get used to what?" Tyler asked confused.

"This." Marissa said, as she gestured between them, then added,"Every time I get a little too close to you, you snap and push me away. The only thing I don't understand is why; why are you so afraid for people to see the real you?"

"Cause I'm a dick, everyone knows that." Tyler pointed out.

"No you're not, that's just what you want people to believe, but I've seen you, Tyler." Marissa said, as she took a step toward him. "But only glimpses of the real you, before you push me away."

"I push you away cause I don't want you to see the real me, Rissa. I don't like the real me and I know you won't either." Tyler shyly admitted.

"That's not true." Marissa argued.

"Yes, it is." Tyler argued back. "I'm the guy who gets mad over any little thing that happens, I snap at people for no good reason, I screw up, I make mistakes, I'm a bad guy and I know it."

Marissa shook her head at his statement and watched as he took a step closer to her. He placed his hands on either side of her face then said,"But when I'm around you, I don't want to be that guy anymore, cause you make me want to be better and even though I'll probably only hurt you in the end, I want to be with you. I want to be better with you."

"Wow." Marissa whispered after his speech. She knew she probably should have said more, but she had never had a guy tell her something like that and she was honestly unsure on what to say back.

"I'm sorry, I know that was pretty heavy." Tyler said when he noticed the look on her face. He was starting to regret saying what he did, he was worried he came on too strong to fast.

"I shouldn't have come here, you're right, I should have just went home." Tyler said, as she continued to look at him and not saying anything. He turned around to walk away, but didn't get far when she reached out and lightly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait, don't go. I just... I'm not sure what to say back." Marissa admitted.

"You don't have to say anything." Tyler said. "You were right when you said I'm afraid, I am afraid to open up to people, but I do want to be open with you. But don't feel like I'm pushing you to open up to me, cause that's not what I'm doing, I just want to be honest with you."

"So I don't have to say anything?" Marissa questioned.

"Not if you don't want to." Tyler answered.

"Good." Marissa said smiling, as she walked toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, then said,"Besides I would rather show you what I'm thinking, then tell you."

Tyler looked at her with a confused look on his face, but before he could ask what she meant by her comment, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his for a quick gently kiss.

"Any questions?" Marissa whispered, with her lips inches from his.

"Nope, none at all." Tyler said back smiling, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her body closer to his before kissing her again. He felt his whole body come alive as he continued to kiss her, no other girl had ever made him feel the way she did.

If Marissa thought the first kiss was good, it was nothing compared to the second kiss. As his lips moved against her, she felt tingles throughout her whole body.

Even though he was only the second guy she had ever kissed, she now knew what Caroline meant when she talked about '_feeling fireworks_'. Kissing Tyler was more than she ever thought it would be. It truly was a special and magical moment, and something she would never forget.

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_a/n - They finally kissed lol I had been looking forward to that scene for a long time now lol Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it. I apologize for it being so long and hope you all don't mind. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to ArtemisLuna85, KyroxIsxSmexy and Writteninthestars08 for reviewing. I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. Happy reading =)_


	13. Bloodlines:Unpleasantville

**Bloodlines | Unpleasantville**

The next morning, Marissa opened her eyes and couldn't keep from smiling as she thought back to the night before. She couldn't believe that she actually kissed Tyler.

She had been waiting on that day for years and it finally happened. Not only did she kiss him, but he wanted to be with her and she was finally ready to take that step with him. She couldn't be happy now if she tried.

With a smile still on her face, Marissa rolled from her back to her side and come face to face with her sister, Caroline. She had decided to sleep in her sister's bed over night to keep an eye on her.

"Ugh, could you please quit smiling." Caroline moaned, as she opened her eyes. "All your cheeriness is giving me a headache."

"No, I think being hit in the head is what's giving you a headache." Marissa pointed out. Shee lightly touched the band-aid on Caroline's head, as she asked,"How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like someone slammed my head into a window." Caroline answered. All she could remember from the night before was getting in a car with Logan, then him slamming her head against a window, although she still wasn't sure why he attacked her.

"That's cause someone did." Marissa angrily said, she too wasn't sure why and really wanted to know.

Caroline sighed as she sat up in bed, then said,"I don't want to even think or talk about it anymore, but what I do want to talk about is, what happened with you and Tyler last night?"

Marissa grinned as she sat up in bed as well, then said,"We kissed."

"And? Are you two like 'together' together now?" Caroline asked smiling. She had never seen her sister so happy before, which made her happy.

Marissa nodded her head, then said,"Yes, we're together now."

"I'm so happy for you." Caroline squealed, as she leaned forward and hugged her.

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she hugged her back. "So how is it going with you and Matt?" She questioned.

"It's going good I think." Caroline answered. "While you and Tyler were making out on the porch, me and Matt laid here and talked."

"Ew, you two didn't, you know?" Marissa asked, as she wrinkled her nose and thought about jumping up from the bed.

"No, no, we didn't do that." Caroline said laughing. "Don't worry, we didn't even kiss last night."

"Why?" Marissa asked surprised. She knew Caroline and Matt liked each other a lot and was surprised that her sister didn't at least make a move.

"Maybe cause my head was killing me and kissing was the last thing on my mind." Caroline answered sarcastically.

"When did that ever stop you?" Marissa joked.

"Hush you." Caroline said laughing. She groaned as she slowly stood up from her bed, then said,"Ugh, I guess we better get up and get ready for school."

"Maybe you should stay home, after everything that happened last night." Marissa suggested.

"I wish I could, but I have a major test in English today that I can't miss." Caroline said. "If I fail it, my grade will drop and mom would ground me for the rest of the school year and there is way too many good things coming up that I can not miss."

"I'm sure the teacher would understand and let you retake the test." Marissa said.

"You don't know Ms. Hall. Unless you are on your deathbed, she expects you to be there to take a test or else." Caroline said. "Just wait, you'll have her next year."

"Can't wait." Marissa said sarcastically. She stood up from the bed, then said,"Well at least let me change the bandage before we go."

"I can change a band-aid, Rissa, I'm not that weak." Caroline said, as she left her bedroom and headed for the bathroom.

Marissa quickly followed along behind her, as she said,"I know you're not weak, Care, but I want to help."

"I got it, Rissa, you don't have to fuss over me, I'm fine." Caroline said with a chuckle.

"But I'm your sister and that's what sisters do." Marissa stated, as she lowered the lid on the toilet, then lightly grabbed Caroline's arm and made her sit down.

"Fine, if you insist." Caroline said, as she rolled her eyes dramatically and laughed.

Marissa laughed back, as she said,"Good, now sit still."

Caroline lifted her head up as Marissa carefully pulled the band-aid off, causing Caroline to hiss in pain. She mumbled a '_sorry_' as she lightly put ointment on the cut, then walked over to the medicine cabinet to grab a new band-aid.

"So are you going to tell Jeremy?" Caroline questioned, as she opened the band-aid.

"Tell Jeremy what?" Marissa asked confused.

"About you and Tyler." Caroline answered.

Marissa sighed as she placed the band-aid on the cut, then said,"Yeah, I'm going to tell him, but I don't know how."

"Well he knew you liked Tyler, so I'm sure it won't be a surprise." Caroline pointed out.

"True, but he hates Tyler, I don't see him being happy about knowing we're together now." Marissa sadly said. As happy as she was to be with Tyler, she knew it would cause an argument with Jeremy and she wasn't looking forward to that.

"I'm sure once he sees how happy you are, he'll be happy for you." Caroline said. "You two have been friends for too long for him to let some guy you're dating come between you two."

"I hope you're right, but this isn't just some guy, its Tyler; his worse enemy." Marissa said with a sigh. "It would make things so much easier if they could just be friends."

"Yeah, well, I don't see that happening anytime soon." Caroline said with a laugh.

"I know, but a girl can dream." Marissa said with a small laugh.

"Alright, let's get ready for school." Caroline said with fake enthusiasm as she stood up.

"Yay!" Marissa added sarcastically, causing Caroline to giggle as they both left the bathroom to go into their bedrooms and get ready.

Many minutes later, Marissa was walking down one of the less crowded hallways as she heard her cell phone beep, letting her know she had a new text message. She pulled the phone out of the front pants pocket of the blue jeans she was wearing and smiled when she saw she had a text from Tyler.

_'Hey Baby Forbes, looking good.' _The text said.

Marissa continued to smile as she looked down at the dark pink shirt she was wearing. It was a short sleeve scoopneck top with some ruching on the chest and around the collar of the shirt. She paired that with a pair of blue jeans and brown boots.

_'I would say the same, but I don't see you. Where are you?' _She text back.

She continued to look down at her phone as she waited from him to write back, when suddenly someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty classroom.

She gasped in surprise then smiled when she noticed it was Tyler. He smiled back then shut the classroom door. He backed her up until her back hit the door before he leaned down and captured her lips, giving her a long passionate kiss.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Marissa asked with a smile after the kiss.

"Just telling you good morning." Tyler said smiling back.

"Well, good morning then." Marissa said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

Tyler grinned against her lips, then pulled away before asking,"So you want to get together today? Maybe go to the grill after school?"

"Together? Like a date?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, that's what people tend to do when they are dating, you know, go out on dates together." Tyler said sarcastically.

"I would love to..." Marissa began to slowly say.

"But?" Tyler questioned when she paused.

"I need to talk to Jeremy first." Marissa explained.

"What, you need his permission or something?" Tyler angrily asked, as he took a step back from her.

"No, Ty, its nothing like that." Marissa said. "He's my best friend and I want to tell him about us first. I don't want him to just find out about it."

Tyler nodded his head, then said,"I don't understand it, but okay."

"I'm sorry." Marissa said. "I'll tell him today, but in the meantime why don't we go to my house after school. Maybe order a pizza or something?" She suggested.

"Sounds good." Tyler said.

Marissa walked toward him and wrapped an arm around his neck, as she said,"Plus mom will be at work and Caroline will probably be home late, so we'll have the house to ourselves."

"Sounds really good." Tyler said with a grin, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Marissa nodded her head, then said,"We could watch a movie or-"

"Make out." Tyler interrupted, as he leaned forward and kissed her.

"Or that." Marissa said with a laugh, as he kissed along her jaw line before kissing her lips again.

Tyler continued to kiss her until the first bell rang, making her groan out as she took a step back to break the kiss. "We better get to class." She said.

"Or we could just stay here, it is a classroom, so close enough." Tyler suggested.

"A classroom that is going to be full of students and a teacher in a few minutes. I don't think they would be happy to find us in here making out." Marissa pointed out with a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tyler said. "Meet you in the parking lot after school?" He questioned.

"I'll be there." Marissa said smiling, as she gave him a quick kiss before walking toward the door. She couldn't wait until the school day was over, all she wanted to do was get through the day and spend more time with Tyler.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

The rest of the school day went by way too slow for Marissa, but she wasn't surprised, that's usually how life went. When you were excited and waiting for something, the day would crawl by, but when you were dreading something, the day went by too fast.

Finally, the bell rang, ending the school day. Marissa made her way to her locker and grabbed the books she would need for that night. She grabbed the books and placed them in her book bag, she reached to grab another book when she heard someone walk over to her.

"Hey, Ris." Jeremy said, as he stood beside her and leaned against the lockers.

"Hey, Jer." Marissa said, as she quickly looked at him then turned away. She knew she needed to tell him about her and Tyler, but she was dreading it. She could already imagine what his reaction would be and it wasn't good.

"How's Caroline?" Jeremy asked.

"She's good." Marissa answered, as she shot him a quick smile then looked back inside her locker.

"Good, I'm glad." Jeremy said. "Speaking of sisters, have you seen mine?" He questioned.

Marissa shut the locker door and tried to remember if she had seen Elena. "Actually now that you mention it, I haven't seen her today."

"She must have blown off school to hang with Stefan I guess. She took him home after the career fair thing last night." Jeremy said, as he began to walk down the hall beside her.

"You are probably right." Marissa said. What they didn't know was, Elena was in Georgia with Damon at the moment.

They continued to walk down the hall in silence as Marissa tried to work up the nerve to tell him. She took a deep breath then opened her mouth, speaking at the same time Jeremy did.

"Jeremy, I-"

"So, what-"

They looked at each other and began to laugh, before he said,"Go ahead."

"No, it's fine, what were you going to say?" Marissa asked him.

"I was just going to ask what are you doing after school today?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, I, um..." Marissa began to stutter. She knew this would be the perfect time to tell him, but was finding it hard to do so.

"The reason I asked is cause I'm heading for the library to work on my history project, I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out and help." Jeremy suggested.

"I would love to, Jer, but I already have plans. Would it be okay if we got together tomorrow?" Marissa asked. She felt bad for turning him down, after all she did offer to help, but she had already made plans with Tyler.

"Yeah, that's fine." Jeremy said. "So what are you and Caroline doing?"

"What?" Marissa asked him confused.

"You said you had plans and I'm assuming that means with Caroline, right? So what are you two doing?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, right. Just hanging out." Marissa lied. She hated to lie to Jeremy, but she had lost her nerve and was finding it hard to tell him the truth now.

"Well I hope you girls have fun." Jeremy said, as he opened the front door for Marissa to walk out first before walking out behind her.

"Thanks." Marissa mumbled, as she glanced over at the parking lot and saw Tyler leaning against his car waiting for her.

She quickly tried to think of a way to get rid of Jeremy before Tyler saw them, luckily he was looking at his watch at the moment and haven't seen them yet. She didn't want him to walk over to them, that was not the way she wanted Jeremy to find out.

"Hey, you know what, I forgot a book in my locker." Marissa said to Jeremy, as she opened the door and went to walk back inside.

"Alright, well, I'll see you later then. I need to head over to the library." Jeremy said.

Marissa mumbled a '_bye_' to him then walked back inside the school. She looked out the front door until she saw that Jeremy was gone, only then did she open the door and walked back out of the school and toward the parking lot, which luckily was now empty except for Tyler; who was still waiting on her.

"Hey, Ty." Marissa said, as she walked over to him, causing him to look up at her and smile.

"Hey, no lame nicknames today?" Tyler joked.

"My nicknames are not lame." Marissa said. She pouted, then added,"You're lame for not liking them."

"No trust me, they are lame." Tyler said laughing. When she shot him a angry look, he threw up his hands and said,"Don't look at me like that, it's not my fault you suck at it."

"You know, maybe I'll just go home alone today." Marissa said, pretending to be angry as she went to take a step away from him.

"Oh, no, you don't. Get back here." Tyler said, as he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, never once seeing the smile on her face as he pulled her toward him.

Once she was in front of him, with her head down and looking upset, he sincerely said to her,"Hey, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, I was just joking around."

"I know." Marissa said, as she lifted her head to look at him. "I was too. Did you really think it would hurt my feelings? I've been told for years I suck at nicknames." She added with a laugh.

"You're mean, you know that, right?" Tyler asked with a laugh of his own. "I really thought you were pissed at me for a moment there."

"Aw, I sowwy." Marissa said with a baby voice. She pinched his cheeks, as she teased,"Did schnookums get his feelings hurt?"

"Stop that!" Tyler said laughing, as the lightly grabbed her hands. "Also add that to the list of names to never call me."

"Will do." Marissa said laughing back, as she pressed her lips against his for a quick kiss.

As Marissa went to take a step back, Tyler grabbed the back of her neck and brought her back toward him as he captured her lips for a deep and long kiss.

No matter how many times he kisses her, it would never be enough for him. He could honestly kiss her forever; which he enjoyed but it also terrified him.

He had never fell this fast and quick for a girl before and as much as he was scared of hurting her, he was even more scared of her hurting him. He had never put his whole self into a relationship before or opened up to a girl the way he had Marissa.

Usually he just dated a girl for a bit, got what he needed then moved on to the next, but with Marissa it was different; with her, he actually wanted to do the whole relationship thing. The dates, the talks, the feelings and of course all the kissing. Also for once he could see himself falling in love, which brought him right back to being terrified.

After a few more minutes of kissing, Marissa pulled back and rested her forehead against his as she took a deep breath. "Wow, that was-"

"Yeah." Tyler said, interrupting her.

Marissa leaned back to look at him with a smile on her face, as she said,"And on that note, we should probably head to my house now."

"Fine with me." Tyler said smiling back, as he pulled her body closer to his.

"Not for that reason, Ty." Marissa said laughing, as she took a step back from him.

"Hey, that's not what I was thinking." Tyler said acting offended. "Get your mind out of the gutters, Baby Forbes." He joked.

"Right, like you seriously wasn't just thinking that." Marissa said laughing.

"I wasn't." Tyler called out.

"Then you might want to tell your pants that, cause they were thinking it." Marissa whispered in his ear.

She began to laugh again, as Tyler's face turned a little red and he glanced down at the front of his pants, where something was definitely noticeable. He dropped his arms from around her waist and walked over to his car.

"Just get in the car." Tyler said, feeling a little embarrassed as he opened the passenger side door for her.

Marissa continued to laugh as she sat down in the seat. She was still laughing a few seconds later when he opened the driver side door and sat down behind the wheel.

"Aw, come on, Ty, you have to admit that was funny." Marissa said, as she turned in the seat to look at him.

Tyler ignored her question as he started the car. He finally cracked a smile and couldn't help but laugh with her as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward her house.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

A hour or so later, after ordering a pizza and eating most of it, Marissa and Tyler sat next to each other on the couch as they watched a movie together, or at least Tyler tried to pay attention to the movie for her sake, but he just wasn't into romantic comedies, instead he spent the time watching her instead of the tv.

He loved seeing her different facial expressions as the movie played on. When the couple met for the first time in the movie, she had a huge grin on her face but when they broke up in the middle of the movie, she began to pout and mumbled about '_how stupid it was, cause the couple were meant to be_'. He couldn't help but chuckle at her later when the couple finally did get back together, then she gasped in surprise and began to softly clap as she bounced up and down in her seat.

Now the loving couple in the movie were currently slowly dancing together and looking happily in love at each other. Marissa smiled and '_awed_' at the couple, as Tyler laid his head back on the couch and turned to look at her again.

He still couldn't believe how lucky he was to be with her. Usually in his ego filled mind, he saw the girl he was messing with at the time being the lucky one, since he was giving them his attention, but not with Marissa.

It was another example of how different things were with them compared to his past flings, another big difference was, with Marissa he didn't even think of it as a fling, it was much more than that.

"Tyler!" Marissa suddenly called out, as she threw a piece of popcorn at him, getting his attention.

"What?" Tyler asked, as he picked up the piece of popcorn from his shirt and popped it in his mouth.

"You are not watching the movie." Marissa whined. She pointed to the tv, as she added,"This is a really good part."

"How do you know this part is good?" Tyler asked her. Before she could answer, he added,"Wait, have you seen this movie before?"

"Um.. yeah." Marissa slowly admitted with a guilty look on her face.

"If you have already seen it, then why are you making me watch it?" Tyler questioned.

"Cause it's really sweet and romantic and I wanted to share it with you." Marissa said, as she scooted over closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, that's a good reason." Tyler said, as he wrapped an arm around her and brought her body closer to his. Once she was comfortable laying against him, he added,"But since you had already seen this movie, we could have watched something else."

"Like what?" Marissa asked, as she turned her head to look at him.

"I don't know, like a horror movie or something." Tyler answered, as he looked down at her.

"We don't own any horror movies."

"I have a lot at home. Maybe next time we can go to my house and watch one." Tyler suggested.

Marissa wrinkled up her nose, as she said,"I don't like horror movies."

"That's too bad, cause after making me watch this chick movie, you now owe me." Tyler said laughing.

"You're really going to make me watch a scary movie?" Marissa asked him, as she pouted.

"Yep." Tyler answered, as he grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl still in her lap then shoved it into his mouth.

"But I hate them and they give me nightmares." Marissa whined.

"Oh, well, you can stay the night then." Tyler said, as he raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"Tyler! You are such a guy." Marissa called out with a groan. She placed her hands against his chest and playfully pushed him away from her while she sat up and placed the bowl on top of the coffee table.

Tyler laughed at her then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back over beside him, as he said,"I was just kidding, now let's finish this movie."

Marissa laughed with him as she laid her head back down on his shoulder and rested her arm across his stomach. As much as she was enjoying the movie, she was enjoying cuddling on the couch with him more.

She would be the first one to admit that she knew nothing about relationships, but if moments like this was how it was, then she was happy with it and could really get use to having Tyler around more often.

_- (o0o) -_

After spending most of the day before with Tyler, then that night with Caroline; who wanted a whole play by play of the date earlier with Tyler, it was now the next day and everyone was at school.

As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch, Marissa made her way toward her locker to drop off her books and grab her lunch to go eat with Caroline.

Sadly she had not seen Tyler all day, but he had texted her on and off all day. They had planned to sneak off somewhere and spend lunch together, until he was called into an emergency football meeting during lunch, they guessed the meeting was about how the school was going to cancel the rest of the football games, since they still haven't hired a replacement coach.

While Marissa was in deep thought and putting her books inside her locker, Caroline walked over to her and called out,"Hey little sis, ready for lunch?"

"Yeah, coming." Marissa said, as she grabbed the brown bag from inside her locker that contained a turkey sandwich, chips and an apple then slammed her locker shut.

The two sisters began to walk in silence down the hallway together, until they passed by a poster on the wall about the 50's Decade Dance coming up that night, causing Caroline to start gushing about how much fun the dance was going to be and how she hoped she and Matt could go to it.

"I hope Matt will ask me to go. I really want to go with him, but he hasn't said a word about it yet. Maybe he's not going to, maybe he just assumes we are going without even asking, I dunno, I'll ask him today while we decorate, which you are helping with by the way." Caroline said all at once without taking a breath.

"I dunno if I can help, I told Jeremy I would help him with his history paper today, since I had to bail on him yesterday." Marissa said.

"Oh no, you are helping me, Rissa." Caroline stated. "I've had too many people back out already and I really need all the help I can get. Besides I'm sure Jeremy will understand."

Marissa sighed, once again felt guilty for bailing on him, then said,"Alright, Care, I'll help."

"Great, thank you." Caroline squealed as she hugged Marissa. "So what are you wearing to the dance?" She questioned.

"I don't know, plus I'm not even sure I am going." Marissa answered.

"Why not? Did Tyler not ask you yet?" Caroline asked. "I thought you two were a couple now?"

"Well we are, but we're not an out there couple yet." Marissa answered.

"What does that even mean?" Caroline asked confused.

"It means I don't want to go public yet until I talk to Jeremy." Marissa answered.

"You still haven't told him yet?" Caroline asked, as she opened a door and they both stepped outside.

"No." Marissa sadly said. "How do you tell your best friend, that you have known your whole life, that you are dating the guy he hates the most."

Caroline nodded her head in understanding, then said,"I completely understand. It's the same with me, how do I tell my best friend that I am dating her ex-boyfriend."

"Yeah, but she's going to be really happy for you guys." Marissa said. "You have to tell Elena."

"Tell me what?" Elena asked, as she joined the sisters and began to walk with them.

"Tell you that I'm mad cause you won't help me decorate today." Caroline lied.

Marissa shot her sister a look when she realized her sister had lied. Although she couldn't judge her for it, she too had been lying to Jeremy so she understood how hard it was to tell your best friend something that you were dreading.

"I'm really sorry, Caroline." Elena said. She pulled something out of her pocket, then added,"But maybe this will help."

"What is it?" Caroline asked, as she watched Elena.

Elena handed Caroline a necklace with a heart charm, then handed Marissa a sliver bracelet that also had a heart charm, inside the hearts were vervain.

"Thank you, Elena, it's beautiful." Marissa said, as she placed the bracelet around her wrist. She sniffled the heart charm then asked,"What is that smell? It smells good."

"Just some herb, but I'm glad you like it." Elena said. She looked at Caroline, as she asked,"So you like yours?"

Caroline nodded her head as she placed the necklace around her neck, then said,"It's so pretty. Thank you. God, it'll go with, like, everything. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. Just a little friend gift." Elena said, as she smiled at the sisters.

"Lesbian friend necklace? Cause we're freaky like that?" Caroline joked with a wink, as she sat down at a picnic table.

"Hey, I thought we had something special. Now you're cheating on me with Caroline?" Marissa added with a laugh, as she sat down beside her sister.

Elena sat across from the sisters and laughed at their jokes, as she said,"Alright that's enough, but seriously your friendship is important to me, both of yours."

Marissa smiled at the comment, as Caroline asked Elena,"Why are you being so mushy?"

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, you are hardly at the house anymore." Elena said to Marissa, then she looked at Caroline and continued,"And I know you've been avoiding me, and I wanted you to know that whatever is going on with you and Matt, it's okay."

"I was gonna talk to you about that. I was, but there's just not much to say. We've hung out a couple times. That's it, but I just feel like we've peaked as friends." Caroline said. "This is weird. I shouldn't be talking to you about this. It's weird. It's weird, right?"

Elena chuckled, then said,"It's a little weird, but, if it's what you and Matt want, then it's not about me."

"But it's all about you. Matt's not over you, and we all know it." Caroline pointed out.

"I'm with Stefan now. Matt understands that. He knows he has to move on." Elena stated.

The three girls looked down at the table and slowly began to eat their lunch quietly. After a few silent minutes, Caroline looked up as she said,"Okay, it is way too quiet, someone say something."

Elena chuckled then looked over at a quiet Marissa before asking,"So what's new with you and why have I not seen you around lately?"

Marissa opened her mouth to answer but before she could, Caroline beat her to it. "She's been in Tyler-land lately."

Elena looked at the younger girl with wide eyes, as she said,"Wait what? You and Tyler are together now?"

Marissa shot her sister a look, as she cried out,"Care! You wasn't suppose to say anything."

"Sorry." Caroline mumbled, as she bite into her sandwich.

"Why didn't you want me to know?" Elena asked the younger blonde with a hurt expression on her face.

"It's not that I don't want you to know, Elena, it's just, I haven't told Jeremy yet and I wanted to tell him first, before he found out, so at the moment me and Tyler are a secret." Marissa explained.

Elena nodded her head in understanding, then said,"It's good that you want to talk to him first, so don't worry, I won't say anything."

"Thanks." Marissa said. "I almost told him yesterday but I chickened out."

"I know you are dreading it, but you need to tell Jeremy and soon." Caroline said to her sister.

"Tell me what?" Jeremy questioned, as he walked up behind the girls. He had no idea what they were talking about, all he heard was his name.

Caroline groaned, before mumbling quietly to her sister,"We really need to stop talking about people unless we know they are not around."

Marissa chuckled at her comment, then looked up at Jeremy as she tried to think of something to say. Now was really not the best time to tell him. She had always imagined telling him when it was just the two of them, not with their sisters watching and listening in.

"Did you need to tell me something?" Jeremy asked, as he looked at Marissa with a confused expression on his face.

"She just wanted to tell you, that she can't help you with your paper cause she is helping me decorate for the dance." Caroline stated, covering for her sister.

"That's fine, I actually already turned in the paper." Jeremy said.

"Really? When?" Marissa asked surprised. She knew he was working on it yesterday but had no idea he would finish that fast.

"I turned it in this morning and Mr. Saltzman already handed it back to me." Jeremy said, as he held up the paper to show them he made a 'A' on it.

Marissa jumped up from the table to hug him, as she called out,"Jer, that's amazing. Great job."

"Thanks." Jeremy said, as he hugged her back.

"I'm so proud of you." Elena said, as she stood up and hugged him next.

"That's great that you finished so fast, now I don't feel so bad for not helping." Marissa joked.

Jeremy laughed, then said,"Good, you shouldn't feel bad. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, plus I had a little help."

Marissa opened her mouth to ask from who but before she could, the bell rang, ending lunch. Caroline and Elena said a quick '_bye_' as they rushed off, leaving Marissa and Jeremy alone. The two teens looked at each other then began to walk toward their lockers together.

"So since you're helping to decorate for the dance, does that mean you are going?" Jeremy asked her.

Marissa shrugged her shoulders, then said,"Not sure yet."

"You should go." Jeremy suggested.

Marissa looked over at him in shock, then said with a laugh,"Wow, I never thought I would see the day when Jeremy Gilbert pushes me to go to a school dance. You usually beg me not to go, so you'll have someone to hang out with it."

"Well, now, I'm begging you to go cause I'm going." Jeremy admitted with a laugh.

"Oh, now the truth comes out." Marissa said laughing back. "So who are you going with?" She questioned.

"No one." Jeremy answered. "I told Mrs. Green I'll be on punch duty at the dance for extra credit."

"That's great, Jer. You're bringing up your grades in History and now English." Marissa said smiling.

"Yeah, now hopefully I can get the rest up." Jeremy said, as he opened his locker and grabbed the books he would need.

"You will." Marissa stated, as she flashed him a smile.

As Jeremy shut his locker door, Marissa cleared her throat, then said,"Um, Jer, there's uh, there's something I need to tell you."

"What?" Jeremy asked, as he looked over at her.

She opened her mouth then shut it, unsure what to say first. She finally decided to just blurt it and get it over with. She opened her mouth again, but before she could say a word, the second bell rang, letting them know they were now late for class.

"Shit, I better go, but we'll talk later." Jeremy said, as he began to walk down the hall. He quickly turned around and added,"Oh and if you do go, save me a dance, okay?"

"Okay." Marissa called out, as she watched him turn back around then jog down the hall toward his class.

She sighed as she opened her locker and grabbed her books. She couldn't believe she had finally worked up the nerve only to be interrupted by the bell.

She vowed to herself to try harder and tell him the next time she saw him. She just hoped she didn't chicken out or get interrupted again.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

After school, while Caroline, Matt and some of the dance committee were outside painting; Caroline sent Marissa and the rest inside the gym to hang up streamers, balloons and other decorations. While the rest where on one side of the gym decorating, Marissa was at the other side standing on a ladder with her arms above her head, taping streamers to the wall.

As she taped up the last one, she felt the ladder begin to move and cried out as she felt herself falling. She closed her eyes and waited for the painful impact, instead she felt someone catch her before she fell to the floor. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw it was Tyler who caught her and was now holding her in his arms.

"Isn't it a little too early to be falling for me?" Tyler teased.

"Ha-ha." Marissa said sarcastically, as she hit his shoulder, before saying,"Okay, put me down."

"What's the magic word?" Tyler joked.

"Now!" Marissa answered with a laugh.

Tyler laughed back as he sat her feet down on the floor and helped her to stand up straight. "Usually the magic word is '_please_' but I'll let you get away with it anyway since you're so cute."

"Well thank you." Marissa said smiling, then asked,"So what are you doing here? I didn't think you were the dance committee type."

"I'm not." Tyler stated. "But I saw Caroline outside and she said you were in here, so I thought I would drop by and say hey."

"Well I'm glad you did." Marissa said, as she smiled at him then picked up a banner to hang up.

"Need some help?" Tyler asked her.

"Um yeah, hold the ladder while I hang this up." Marissa said, as she pointed to the banner she was holding.

Tyler nodded his head and held on tight to the ladder, as she climbed up with banner in hand. When she stretched her arms above her head, Tyler noticed her shirt riding up, exposing her smooth lower back.

He wanted nothing more than to reach out and run his hand over her back to see if it was as soft as it looked, but figured he better keep his hands to himself. He would hate to freak her out and cause her to fall again.

After staring at her back and backside as well for a few more minutes, he finally looked away and cleared his throat before saying,"So this, um, this dance, you going to it?"

"I don't know yet, why?" Marissa answered back, as she walked down the ladder and stood in front of him.

"I was just thinking that, if you wanted to, we could go together." Tyler suggested.

"I would, but, I-I haven't told Jeremy about us yet." Marissa said with a guilty look on her face. She hated that she didn't tell him, mainly cause she hated keeping things from her best friend and also cause she hated hiding her relationship with Tyler.

"You know, I tried to be understanding of this, but honestly I don't understand it at all." Tyler said with an annoyed expression on his face.

"I know and I'm sorry, but I am going to tell him." Marissa said sincerely.

"Yeah, right." Tyler said sarcastically. He was starting to think she was never going to tell him. He was also starting to wondering if she really did want to be with him, he was worried she was starting to have second thoughts.

"Tyler, I promise I will." Marissa said, as she lightly grabbed his arm and looked at him, hoping to get through to him.

Tyler shrugged her off then angrily said,"Are you sure this is what you want? Cause it seems like to me you are wanting to keep us hidden cause you're ashamed or maybe cause deep down, you don't want to be with me."

"What? No that's crazy. I do want to be with you, Ty." Marissa said to him.

"Whatever." Tyler mumbled, as he turned to walk away before his anger got the better of him and he said something he would never be able to take back.

Marissa stood still for a moment and watched him walk away as she debated on if she should go after him or not. Finally she decided to just let him cool off for now then vowed to make it up to him and to prove to him she wanted to be with him. She just wasn't sure how yet.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

Later that night, Marissa walked into the gym with Caroline by her side for the 50's dance. She smoothed down the blue with white polka dots 50's style dress she was wearing then glanced around the room with a sad sigh as she watched everyone dancing and having a great time. She was glad the dance was a success, she just wished she could have been having a great time too.

"You okay?" Caroline asked, as she looked over at her sister and saw the sad look on her face.

Marissa nodded her head as she continued to look around the room, her eyes landed on Tyler and she gasped in surprise when she saw him dancing with another girl.

Caroline looked over in the direction she was looking in and narrowed her eyes in anger when she saw the same thing Marissa did.

"What the hell? Is that Tyler dancing with Aimee freaking Bradly?" Caroline angrily asked.

"Yeah." Marissa mumbled.

"I can't believe him! You two have only been together for a short time and he is already cheating on you." Caroline called out, as she went to walk over toward them.

Marissa quickly grabbed her arm, as she said,"Wait, Care, don't go over there."

"Why the hell not?" Caroline asked with a shocked look on her face.

"Cause it's my fault he is with her." Marissa answered. "He asked me to go, but I turned him down cause I still haven't told Jeremy."

"You still haven't told him?" Caroline asked surprised. "Why not?"

"I'm scared." Marissa answered honestly.

"Scared of what? His reaction?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. He's my best friend, Care, and I don't want to lose him. But if I don't tell him and keep my relationship hidden, I'm going to lose Tyler cause he feels like I don't want to be with him, but I do." Marissa admitted.

Caroline sighed, then said,"I can not believe I am actually going to say this, but I do agree with Tyler. If I was with a guy who wanted to keep our relationship hidden, I would think it was cause he didn't want to be seen with me or wanted to be with me. Matter of fact, I have been in that situation before."

"When?" Marissa asked.

"You remember Scotty Smith, 8th grade?" Caroline asked.

"Vaguely." Marissa answered.

"Well he was my boyfriend for like a month, but the whole time he wanted to keep us a secret. He always had a good reason for it and make it sound like the greatest thing ever, so I went along with it. It wasn't until later I found out the reason he wanted to keep us hidden was cause he had three other girlfriends at the same time." Caroline explained."Now I'm not saying that is what Tyler is thinking, but I can understand how he feels."

Marissa nodded her head, as she said,"You're right, I have to make this right and I have to do it now."

"Yes you do." Caroline said. When she saw Jeremy by the punch bowl, she nodded toward him, as she added,"And now is your chance."

"Thanks, Care." Marissa said.

"No problem. Now go talk to Jeremy, then go steal your man back." Caroline said with a laugh, as she walked off to join Bonnie and Elena.

Marissa took a deep breath as she walked over to Jeremy; who looked up at her and smiled as she got closer.

"Hey, having fun?" Jeremy asked her.

"Not really." Marissa said with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked concern.

"Nothing." Marissa lied.

"You're a bad liar, you know that, right?" Jeremy said, as he handed her a cup full of punch. He watched her as she took a sip of the punch, then asked,"So what's really bothering you? Is it Tyler?"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Marissa asked surprised, for a brief moment she had worried he had figured out what was going on.

"I'm talking about the fact that he is here with a date. I know you like the guy, so I figured it was bothering you." Jeremy explained.

"No, I mean, it does bother me, but I can't be mad at him. It's my fault." Marissa said.

"How is it your fault?" Jeremy asked confused.

Marissa opened her mouth to answer but before she could, an unfamiliar girl with dark hair walked over to Jeremy and smiled at him

"You neglected to mention this was a theme party." Marissa heard the girl say.

Marissa looked between Jeremy and the new girl. She didn't know why, but she didn't like the way they were looking at each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a date." Marissa bitterly said to Jeremy.

"No, it's not like that, Rissa." Jeremy said, as he looked away from Anna to look at the blonde.

"It's true, he didn't ask me, I took matters into my own hands." Anna added.

"Yeah, it's this thing she does, where she pretends we are dating, when we're not." Jeremy joked, as he looked at Anna and laughed.

Anna rolled her eyes as she lightly punched Jeremy's arm, then said,"Oh get over yourself, I just never been to a high school dance before."

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" Marissa asked the dark headed girl, rudely.

"Oh sorry, I'm Anna." She said, as she held her hand out.

Marissa shook her hand, then asked,"And how do you two know each other?"

"I helped him on his paper." Anna answered.

"Yeah, when you couldn't help me the other day, I met Anna and she helped." Jeremy added.

"Wow, that's just.. just great." Marissa snapped sarcastically, as she turned around and began to walk away. She rolled her eyes when she heard Jeremy following her and calling out her name.

She walked past all the people in the gym and made her way out into the hallway. She had only taken a few steps when Jeremy lightly grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" Jeremy questioned. He didn't know if he should be worried or pissed at her attitude.

"I just can't believe this whole time I've been feeling guilty keeping something from you and you've been keeping an 'Anna' from me." Marissa angrily said.

"Whoa! Hold on a minute, nothing is going on with me and Anna." Jeremy explained. "And what have you been keeping from me?"

Marissa rolled her eyes, then turned around to walk away, as she called out,"Just forget it, Jer."

Jeremy grabbed her arm again, as he said,"Don't walk away from me, Ris, what is going on?"

"I'm dating Tyler." Marissa finally blurting out.

"What?" Jeremy asked confused. "If you're dating him, then why is he here with another girl?"

"Cause I told him I couldn't be public with him until I could tell you." Marissa said. "We kissed recently and now we're dating. There! That's my big secret!"

Jeremy held up his hand as he wrinkled up his nose in disgust, before saying,"I don't need details. But I do want to know, why? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Cause I was worried about your reaction. I didn't want to fight with you." Marissa explained.

"You mean like we are now?" Jeremy joked with a short laugh.

"Exactly." Marissa said with a chuckle, then added sincerely,"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Jeremy shrugged, then said,"It's okay. Just don't keep anything from me again. We have to be honest with each other, always."

"I know." Marissa said. A nervous look appeared on her face, as she shyly asked,"So, honestly, what do you think? About me and Tyler?"

Jeremy sighed as he ran a hand over his hair, then said,"I don't know, I mean I don't like or trust the guy, but I trust you and as long as you're happy, then I guess I'm okay with it."

Marissa breathed a sigh of relief then stepped forward to give him a hug, as she said,"Thanks, Jer."

He hugged her back, then asked,"So what are you going to do now?"

"About what?" Marissa asked confused.

"Well you're dating the guy, but he's with another girl, what are you going to do?" Jeremy asked again.

"I-I don't know." Marissa said.

"Go after him, Ris." Jeremy said with a small smile.

"But I don't even know what to say, I mean what do I do? What do I say?" Marissa nervously asked.

Jeremy held up his hands, as he said,"Hey, that is as far as I go with the relationship advice. I'm not going to tell you how to get with the jerk."

Marissa chuckled then gave him another hug before turning around and jogging back into the gym as she called out a quick 'bye' to Jeremy.

He sighed as he watched her run away. He wasn't sure how to honestly feel about her being with Tyler. He knew it made her happy and that is all he really wanted, was her to be happy. He just hoped that dick wouldn't hurt her or there would be hell to pay.

Jeremy shook his head then made his way back into the gym to talk to Anna. He wasn't sure what was going on between them and even though Marissa would always be the girl he loved, he figured maybe it was time he moved on.

After walking back into the gym, Marissa scanned the room until she found Tyler in the middle of the dance floor slow dancing with Aimee. She tried not to let that bother her, as she quickly made her way toward them.

She walked up behind them then lightly tapped Tyler on the shoulder. She waited for him to turn to look at her before she asked,"Hey, can I talk to you?"

"I'm a little busy right now." Tyler snapped, as he tried not to check her out. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms, but he knew he couldn't, so he didn't even want to deal with her right now.

Marissa looked at Aimee, as she said,"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can I borrow your date for a minute."

"Um, yeah, sure." Aimee said, as she turned around and walked away. She had no idea what was going on between those two, but she did not want to get involved.

"What do you want, Rissa?" Tyler asked, once they were alone.

"You, Tyler, I want you." Marissa admitted.

"I want you too, Ris, but I can't be with you as a secret. It's either all or nothing." Tyler said, laying it all out for her.

"Then I want it all." Marissa said with a smile, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He lowered his eyebrows in confusion, but before he could say anything, she leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against his for a quick kiss. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, hoping to read his expression.

He smirked then laid his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her back toward him as he captured her lips for another kiss.

After the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, before asking,"You want to get out of here?"

Marissa pulled back to look at him. She flashed him a smile, as she said,"No, I want to stay here and dance with you, all night, in front of everyone."

"Works for me." Tyler said, as he pulled her body closer to his and gave her a soft kiss, neither one caring who saw them.

Marissa smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder while they danced the rest of the night. She couldn't help but think how perfect the night turned out and she was hopeful that every night would be just as great.

_- (o0o) -  
><em>

_a/n - hello everyone, sorry it took so long to get these two episodes out. There wasn't much for Rissa to do so I just had to make up things as I go lol. But I hope you all enjoy it and will continue to read it. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy, Sage Londyn, Writteninthestars08, bbymojo, Funnygirlash101, Bloody-Lace and Rosie-Everdeen-Potter for reviewing. I'm so glad so many people like this story. Thank you again and happy reading =)_


	14. Fool Me Once

**Fool Me Once**

* * *

><p>A few days later, after spending some time with their Dad, Marissa and Caroline walked into the house with their arms loaded down with their overnight bags and shopping bags. With it being Marissa's birthday, the sisters had spent a few days with their Dad, who took them shopping, a lot.<p>

"So, got any plans for tonight birthday girl?" Caroline asked her sister, as she sat her bags down on her bed.

"Just going out to dinner with Tyler." Marissa answered, as she dropped her bags down beside Caroline's.

"That's all he's doing for your birthday? Just taking you out to dinner?" Caroline asked.

"Yep, that's all." Marissa answered, as she fell back onto Caroline's bed with a tired sigh. After shopping non-stop for the past few days she was almost to tired to do anything for her birthday.

"But it's your sixteenth birthday, you're suppose to do something big." Caroline pointed out. Even though she knew what Tyler really had planned for Marissa that night, she just wanted to make sure Marissa hasn't figured anything out yet.

Marissa shrugged then said,"I'm ok with doing something small. Dinner with Tyler is enough for me."

"Are you sure your my sister?" Caroline joked, then added,"birthdays are a great time to cut loose and party."

"Well then on your birthday we'll party." Marissa said, as her phone made a sound, letting her know she had a text message. She pulled her phone out of her front pants pocket and smiled when she read the 'happy birthday' text from Tyler. She stood up from the bed and placed her phone back in her pocket as Caroline pulled out her phone and read a message from someone with a loud sigh.

"Everything ok?" Marissa asked her.

"Yeah." Caroline said feeling annoyed,

"Who have you been texting with the last few days? Every time I turned around you were texting." Marissa asked.

"Just Matt." Caroline lied. She hated to lie to her sister, but she couldn't tell her she had been texting with Tyler as they planned a surprise party for her.

"Ok." Marissa said, then asked,"hey, you want to go to the Grill? Tyler and Matt are there."

"Yeah, let's go." Caroline said, as she grabbed her purse from the bed and headed out of her bedroom with Marissa following along behind her.

Many minutes later, they walked into the Grill and glanced around the room looking for Matt and Tyler, they finally found them toward the back at the pool tables and made their way toward them.

"Hey Baby Forbes." Tyler said smiling, as soon as he saw her.

"Hey Chunky Monkey." Marissa said laughing, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Tyler gave her a weird look as he wrapped his arms around her waist then said,"trying the whole nickname thing again I see."

"Yep. So what do you think?" Marissa asked laughing again.

Tyler shook his head then said,"I think you still suck at it."

"So that's a 'no' to Chunky Monkey?" Marissa asked.

"That's a 'hell no' to Chunky Monkey." Tyler said laughing. He gave her a quick kiss then said,"but I did miss the lame nicknames and you too of course."

"I missed you too Ty." Marissa said smiling, as she leaned forward to press her lips against his for a long tender kiss.

"Ok, that's enough you two." Caroline called out, as she separated them. Just cause she was happy for her sister didn't mean she wanted to watch her making out with Tyler.

"But it's my birthday." Marissa pouted, then added,"shouldn't I be able to get kisses on my birthday?"

"That's a very good point." Tyler added.

Caroline rolled her eyes then kissed Marissa on the cheek before saying,"there, that's your birthday kiss."

Marissa laughed as she wiped her cheek then said,"I love you Care, but that's not the birthday kiss I wanted."

"Tough, cause that's all you're getting as long as I'm around." Caroline said, as she stood in between her sister and Tyler to keep them from kissing again.

Matt laughed as he stepped toward Marissa to hug her as he said,"happy birthday Rissa."

"Thanks Matt." Marissa said smiling, then she looked at Caroline and asked,"oh sorry, is a birthday hug ok?"

"Yes, hugs are ok." Caroline said, as she watched Matt hug Marissa again before saying,"ok that's enough."

"So Rissa, you ready for tonight?" Matt asked her.

"Yeah, Tyler's taking me out to dinner for my birthday." Marissa said, as she looked over at Tyler and smiled.

"No, I mean are you ready for the par..." Matt begin to say until Caroline started coughing to interrupt him.

"You ok Care?" Marissa asked, as she lightly patted her sister on the back.

"Yeah, but I could use something to drink." Caroline said, as she coughed again.

"Ok, I'll be right back." Marissa said, as she rushed over to the bar to order her sister a soft drink.

Once Marissa was gone, Caroline shot Matt a look then asked,"did you forget what 'surprise party' meant?"

"Sorry." Matt said, then added,"I didn't realize her party tonight was a surprise."

"Well now you know, so don't say anything ok." Caroline said to him.

As Matt nodded his head, Caroline looked at Tyler and asked,"so what was the text about before? You said we have a problem."

"Yeah, a big problem. We can't use my house for the party tonight." Tyler explained.

"Why not? I thought your parents were going out of town?" Caroline asked.

"They were, but Dad's got some meetings this weekend now and they had to cancel." Tyler answered.

Caroline groaned then said,"great, now what are we going to do."

"Why don't you do it here at the grill." Matt suggested.

Caroline shook her head then said,"it's to last minute, plus the whole school is coming to the party and this building couldn't hold them all. We need somewhere really big, which is why Tyler's house would have worked."

"There's nothing I can do to make them leave, sorry." Tyler said with a shrug.

"I guess we'll have to cancel." Caroline said with a sad sigh.

"No, we're not cancelling." Tyler said, then added,"I'll figure out something." The last thing he wanted to do was cancel Marissa's party, he had never done something like this for a girl before and he didn't want to let her down.

"Ok, just let me know when you find a new location." Caroline said to him, as he and Matt went back to playing their game of pool.

Caroline glanced over at the bar and saw Marissa still standing and waiting for her drink, she sighed boredly and folded her arms across her chest as she looked around the restaurant until she saw Jeremy walked in and walk toward them. He sat down at a table nearby and begin to flip through a book. Before he could get into the book, Caroline walked over to him.

"Hey, Jeremy. Where is Elena? I've been texting her and Bonnie all day about the party tonight." Caroline said to him.

"I think she went somewhere with Stefan." Jeremy answered, then asked,"what party?"

"Rissa's surprise birthday party me and Tyler are throwing." Caroline answered, then asked,"you're coming right?"

"Uh yeah, sure I'll be there. But you do remember Rissa's not a big party person right? And she's not to fond of surprises either. " Jeremy said.

"Yeah but it's a good surprise and a party for her, so she'll love it." Tyler said butting in their conversation. He had been listening in and he had to admit it bothered him that Jeremy knew Marissa so well, even though it was expected since they grew up together, but he still didn't like it. He wanted to be the one who knew everything about her, not Jeremy.

"If you say so Lockwood." Jeremy said with a smug smile. He knew when it came to birthdays, Marissa was more into a low key celebration with her friends, not a huge party and definitely no surprise party.

"I do say so Gilbert." Tyler shot back, then added,"just wait, Rissa will love it."

"I'll love what?" Marissa asked, as she walked over to them holding a glass of soda that she handed to Caroline.

"Your surprise tonight." Tyler answered to cover up the fact that they were talking about the surprise party.

"What is it? What's my surprise?" Marissa asked him with a excited look on her face.

"You'll find out tonight." Tyler said laughing, as he wrapped a arm around her shoulder and pulled her toward him.

"Aw man, I hate surprises." Marissa said with a groan, as she laid her head on Tyler's shoulder. While she wasn't looking, Jeremy shot Tyler a look, as if to say 'see told ya', causing Tyler to roll his eyes. Maybe Jeremy was right, maybe she did hate surprises, but he was hopefully that she would love this surprise.

Marissa looked over at Jeremy, as if seeing him for the first time and said,"hey Jer."

"Hey Ris. Happy birthday." Jeremy said smiling.

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she stepped away from Tyler to walk over to Jeremy and hug him.

"I'll stop by later to give you your present since I didn't get to see you first thing this morning." Jeremy said, then joked,"I mean I thought about sneaking into your Dad's house but figured he would shoot me or something."

"He probably would have." Marissa said laughing, then added,"but that's ok, I'll let you slide on the tradition this time."

"What tradition?" Tyler asked, as he looked between Marissa and Jeremy.

"Every year for my birthday, Jeremy sneaks into my room at midnight to give me my present and I do the same for him on his birthday." Marissa explained.

"You sneak into her room every year?" Tyler asked Jeremy, as he tried not to feel jealous.

Jeremy nodded his head as Marissa said,"yeah, we've been sneaking into each others rooms for years. It's just our thing."

"Yep, it's _our _thing." Jeremy said, as he shot another look at Tyler, causing Tyler to narrow his eyes in anger toward Jeremy.

Matt, seeing the looks between Tyler and Jeremy, cleared his throat then said to ease the tension,"well my break is over, I better get back to work."

"Actually can I talk to you for a minute?" Caroline asked him.

"Sure, follow me." Matt said, as he and Caroline walked off, leaving a confused Marissa behind as she watched Tyler and Jeremy shoot dirty looks at each other.

"So, does anyone want to shoot pool?" Marissa asked, grabbing the two boys attention.

"I would, but I got some errands to run before tonight." Tyler said, as he sat the pool stick he had been holding down on the table. As much as he hated to leave her, he knew he still had to find a good location to hold the birthday party tonight, plus he had to go pick up her present.

"Ok, I'll see you tonight then." Marissa said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss.

Tyler looked over her head and shot Jeremy a look before he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer toward him to give her a long kiss. Jeremy balled his hands into a fist as he turned his head away, he couldn't stand to see that jerk kissing her, but he knew there was nothing he could do.

"I'll see you later." Tyler said to her after the kiss.

"Can't wait." Marissa said smiling, as she watched Tyler walk away. Once he was gone, she looked at Jeremy and asked,"you want to play or if you're hungry we can grab some lunch?"

"I'll pass on lunch, I lost my appetite." Jeremy mumbled, as he watched Tyler walk out of the restaurant. Then he looked at her and said,"but I'm up for a game of pool."

"Ok, let's play." Marissa said smiling, as she begin to rack up the pool balls.

After shooting some pool with Jeremy and Caroline a few times, it was time to head home and get ready to go out with Tyler for her birthday. After a quick shower, she put on a pair of black skinny jeans and a blue sleeveless top. After fixing her hair and make-up, she was sitting on her bed, putting on a pair of black ankle boots, when Caroline walked into her bedroom.

"Hey Ris, you look great." Caroline said.

"Thanks, so do you." Marissa said, then added,"so what do you have planned tonight?"

"Not a lot, just hanging with friends." Caroline said vaguely.

"Good. I hope you have fun." Marissa said smiling.

"I hope you do too." Caroline said, then added,"well I better get going, see you later."

"Bye." Marissa called out, as Caroline left her bedroom. She needed to get to the party and make sure everything was set up before Tyler arrived with Marissa.

After Caroline left, Marissa grabbed her black wool jacket then made her way into the living room as she waited for Tyler. Even though she wasn't fond of surprises, she still thought it was cute that he was planning something just for her and wanted to keep it a secret.

After standing around waiting on him, she finally sat down on the couch and begin to flip through the channels as she continued to wait, before she could find anything good to watch, she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly shut off the tv, then made her way toward the front door before opening the door with a smile on her face, her face fell a little when she noticed it wasn't Tyler at the door, instead it was Jeremy.

"Oh, hey Jer." Marissa said, as she opened the door wider for him to walk inside.

"Wow thanks for making me feel welcomed." Jeremy said sarcastically, as he walked inside holding a pink gift bag.

"Sorry, I just thought you were Tyler." Marissa said with a apologetic smile.

Jeremy rolled his eyes then said,"why am I not surprise that he's late."

"He's only..." Marissa begin to say as she looked at the time on her phone then added,"ten minutes late."

"Dick." Jeremy said angrily. He knew how important birthdays were to her and he hated that Tyler was letting her down.

"Don't be like that Jer, I'm sure he will be here soon. He's probably just running late or something." Marissa said, as she tried not to feel disappointed.

"Well in the meantime, why don't you open up your present. Maybe it will cheer you up." Jeremy said, as he handed her the bag he had been holding. Even though he wanted to continue to point out the ways Tyler was wrong for her, he decided not to push it right now, it was her birthday after all.

"Yay! Presents!" Marissa said happily, as she took the bag from him and opened it up. She smiled when she saw a small white stuff animal inside. She took the toy out of the bag and realized it was a cat.

"Aw! It's so cute Jer. Thank you." Marissa said, as she smiled at him.

"Remember recently we were talking about how you always wanted a pet but your Mom never let you have one?" Jeremy asked. As she nodded her head he continued,"well I saw this and figured it could be your pet."

"Thank you." Marissa said again, as she hugged him then said,"I love it."

"Good, I'm glad." Jeremy said, as he hugged her back.

After the hug, Marissa took a step back and looked at Jeremy with a smile. She loved how after all these years, he still knew her. He knew what she thought, what she felt and what she wanted. She just hoped that never changed.

With her hands resting on his shoulders, she said,"I love how after all this time, you still get me. You are the only one who truly knows me."

"I'll always get you Rissa." Jeremy said with a soft smile, as he placed on hand on her cheek. She smiled and closed her eyes as she leaned against his hand, enjoying his gently touch.

They stood still for several minutes, until the door bell rang through the quiet house. Marissa quickly jumped away from Jeremy and cleared her throat before saying,"that must be Tyler."

"Here can you hold this." Marissa said to Jeremy, as she handed the stuff animal to him before walking over to the front door. She opened the door with a huge grin on her face and saw Tyler standing in front of her, balancing a small box in his hands.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was having a little problem with your present." Tyler said smiling.

Marissa laughed then asked,"why is there holes in the box?"

"You'll see." Tyler said, as he walked into the house. He stopped short when he saw Jeremy standing in the living room. "What are you doing here Gilbert?" Tyler asked him, as he tried not to feel jealous as he looked between Jeremy and Marissa.

"He was bringing me my present." Marissa answered before Jeremy could.

"I figured now would be a good time to come by since you're late." Jeremy said, as he shot a dirty look to Tyler.

"Is that what you gave her?" Tyler asked, as he nodded his head toward the stuff animal Jeremy was holding, then he added,"you do know she turned sixteen not six right?"

"I'm sure it's a better present than whatever lame thing you got your Mommy to pick out." Jeremy shot back.

"My Mom didn't pick it out, I did and I know she's going to love it a lot better than some stupid toy." Tyler said back with a smug smile.

"Ok guys that's enough." Marissa called out, as she looked at both boys then said,"this isn't a contest. I don't care who got me what, I'm going to love both presents cause both of you are important to me so stop fighting."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Jeremy said to her sincerely.

"Me too." Tyler said, as he sat the box down on the couch then said,"well, here you go, happy birthday."

"Thank you." Marissa said, as she smiled at both boys. She walked over to the box Tyler sat down, she reached out to pull off the lid then quickly jumped back when the box moved. "Um Ty, why is the box moving?" Marissa asked with a fearful look on her face.

"Open it and find out." Tyler said with a laugh.

Marissa reached out again and cautiously pulled off the lid. She smiled happily when a small orange and white kitten, with a blue bow around the neck, jumped out of the box.

"Oh my God! You got me a kitten." Marissa said excitedly, as she picked up the little kitten and held it in her arms.

Jeremy looked at the huge smile on her face as she played with the kitten, then he looked down at the toy cat in his hands with a sad sigh. He thought he had got her the perfect present, but of course Tyler had to take it a step further.

"Yeah, well I had asked Caroline what you would want and she told me you had always wanted to a pet." Tyler said, as he smiled at her.

"Is that why you texted me yesterday and asked if I liked cats or dogs better?" Marissa asked laughing.

Tyler nodded his head then said,"I was at the animal shelter and wasn't sure which animal to get you, so I thought I would ask and see what you liked better."

"Thank you Tyler, seriously, I love him." Marissa said, as she kissed the kitten on the head.

"You know her Mom is going to be pissed right?" Jeremy asked Tyler, then he said to Marissa,"she's never going to let you keep it."

"But it's a present, she'll have to let me keep him." Marissa said, then added with a baby voice as she petting on the kitten,"besides how can you say 'no' to this face."

As much as Jeremy didn't like the fact that Tyler gave her a kitten, he can't deny that he liked to see her happy and she did look extremely happy holding the small kitten. He secretly hoped she could keep the kitten, but he would never admit that in front of Tyler.

"Well I guess I'll see you two at the party." Jeremy said, as he begin to walk toward the front door.

"What party?" Marissa asked confused.

"Damn it Gilbert." Tyler snapped, as he shot Jeremy a dirty look.

"Oops, I meant secret party." Jeremy said with a smug look.

"You're throwing me a party?" Marissa asked Tyler.

"Yeah, it was suppose to be a surprise." Tyler said, as he gave Jeremy another look.

"Sorry." Jeremy said with a shrug as he walked out the door.

Once Jeremy was gone, Marissa looked at Tyler and asked,"so my surprise tonight is a party?"

"Yeah." Tyler said, then he sighed as he said,"and I know you're not big into parties or surprises. Jeremy filled me in about that earlier."

"That is true, but I'm going to love this party cause you threw it for me." Marissa said smiling, as she held the kitten in one arm and wrapped her other arm around his neck.

"You sure? Cause I can cancel it and we can do whatever you want." Tyler asked, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm sure, I want to go to my party." Marissa said smiling.

"Surprise party, so act surprise." Tyler said laughing.

"I can do that." Marissa said laughing back.

"Well let's get the birthday celebration going then." Tyler said, as he gave her a quick kiss.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Close to a hour later, after getting the new kitten set up with food, toys and a litter box, Tyler and Marissa arrived at the surprise birthday party, which was taking place in the woods by the old cemetery and Fell's Church. As Tyler parked his car off the side of the road, hidden out of sight, Marissa glanced around the dark woods with a scared expression on her face.

"This is where my party is?" Marissa asked Tyler, as she looked over at him.

"Mm-hm." Tyler asked, as he turned the car off.

"In the woods?" Marissa asked, then added when Tyler nodded his head,"by the old cemetery?"

"Yeah." Tyler answered, then asked when he noticed the look on her face,"why? Is something wrong?"

"I hate cemeteries. They freak me out." Marissa answered with a scared look still on her face.

"Why?" Tyler asked with a laugh, then added,"they're dead, dead people can't hurt you."

"I-I know, but it still freaks me out." Marissa admitted.

Tyler reached out and grabbed her hand, he brought her hand up to his mouth and gave it a quick kiss then said,"it'll be ok, I promise. You'll have me, Caroline, Matt and everyone else there. No one or nothing will get you."

"Yeah, you're right." Marissa said smiling, then added,"I'm being stupid. Let's just go and have a fun time."

"You sure?" Tyler asked, the last thing he wanted was for her to be scared or uncomfortable.

"I'm sure. Like you said, everyone is going to be there, it's not like I'm walking through a cemetery alone." Marissa said.

"Ok, let's go then." Tyler said, as he opened the car door and stepped out into the dark night. He walked over to the passenger side as Marissa exited the car. He grabbed her hand and led her into the woods, closer to the party.

They were almost to the party, when Tyler suddenly stopped and said,"wait, you got to close you eyes."

"Why?" Marissa asked confused.

"Cause it's suppose to be a surprise remember?" Tyler answered.

"Right." Marissa said, then asked with a laugh,"what would you have done if I didn't know it was a surprise. How would you have tricked me into coming here?"

Tyler shrugged then said,"I don't know, I didn't think that far ahead."

"You are the worse secret party planner." Marissa joked.

"Well you're the worse nickname giver." Tyler shot back with laugh.

"I guess we are two of a kind then." Marissa said smiling.

"Guess so." Tyler said smiling back, then added,"ok, close your eyes and act surprised."

Marissa continued to smile as she closed her eyes then said,"ok but you better not let me fall into a open grave."

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall. Trust me." Tyler said, as he begin to led her toward the party again.

"I do trust you Ty." Marissa said honestly. Even though she couldn't see him, he looked at her with a shocked expression on his face. No one had ever said those words to him before, no one had ever trusted him like she did and he found himself loving that feeling. He loved that she trusted him.

Tyler cleared his throat and turned his head to looked into the woods as he said,"ok, just hold on to me. We're almost there."

The couple continued to walk through the woods together, Marissa holding on tight to his arm with her eyes closed, as he slowly led her closer and closer to the party, where everyone was standing around, waiting to yell out surprise.

Tyler walked through two trees and smiled when he saw Caroline, Matt and everyone else standing in front of them. He stopped walking, then looked at Marissa as he said,"ok, you can open your eyes."

Marissa slowly opened her eyes then gasped in surprise when everyone yelled out 'surprise' to her. She laughed and smiled as Caroline stepped toward her and gave her a big hug.

"Happy birthday sis." Caroline called out during the hug, then said afterwards,"we totally got you. You had no idea right?"

"Right." Marissa lied, as she glanced over at Tyler with a secret smile. She looked back at her sister then said,"you totally surprised me, thanks Care."

"You're welcome." Caroline said with a big smile, as she hugged her again then looked at her as she asked,"you sure you like it though? I know parties are not really your thing, but me and Tyler wanted to do something special for your birthday."

"I love it. Thank you." Marissa said, as she smiled at her sister then she glanced at Tyler to smile at him as she said,"both of you."

Tyler nodded his head and smiled back at her, as Matt stepped forward and gave her a hug, telling her 'happy birthday'. After Matt's hug, a few other people she knew stepped forward to give hugs and say 'happy birthday' before walking off to drink and talk amongst them yourselves, leaving Marissa, Caroline, Tyler and Matt standing around to continue to talk.

"So what did Tyler end up getting you for your birthday?" Caroline asked Marissa.

"He got me the cutest kitten ever." Marissa answered, as she grabbed Tyler's hand and gave it a squeeze as she looked at him and smiled.

"I knew you would love to have a pet, that's why I told him to get you one." Caroline said with a proud smile, she was happy that she was able to picked out the perfect present for Tyler to give her sister.

"Thank you for telling him that, cause I love him." Marissa said, as she continued to smile.

"What did you name the kitten? Or have you thought of one yet?" Caroline asked Marissa.

"Haven't thought of a name yet." Tyler answered for her. They had talked about names for the kitten all the way to the party, but so far, she haven't thought of a good one.

"Actually, I just thought of a good name for him." Marissa added.

"What is it?" Caroline asked.

"Chunky Monkey or CM for short." Marissa said smiling.

"That's... a different name. Very unique." Matt said as nicely as he could, hoping he wouldn't upset Marissa on her choice of pet names.

"Oh God." Tyler said with a groan, then asked,"are you really going to give that poor little kitten my lame nickname?"

"You said you didn't like the nickname, so it's not yours anymore, it's now the kittens name." Marissa said to Tyler with a grin on her face.

"Am I missing something here?" Caroline asked, as she looked between Marissa and Tyler.

Tyler looked at Caroline then said,"I don't know if you are aware of this, but your sister sucks at nicknames. Chunky Monkey happens to be one of the names she called me and now she wants to call the kitten that."

"What? It's cute!" Marissa called out, then added,"the little kitten does have a little tummy and he looks chunky."

"Ah I see, the lame nicknames strike again." Caroline said with a laugh, then added,"trust me I know all about the lame nicknames."

"How can someone be bad at nicknames?" Matt asked them.

"I don't know, but Rissa is." Caroline answered, then added,"through the years she has called me, Care Bear, which isn't that bad. Probably one of the best ones she has thought of. She has also called me, Car Vroom Vroom, don't ask, and Carry All."

Tyler, Matt and even Marissa laughed out loud, then Marissa said,"hey, those aren't that bad."

"Sorry Rissa, but those are pretty terrible." Matt said laughing again.

"Well excuse me for having a little fun." Marissa said, acting like she was offended.

"Hey, you know we still love you." Caroline said to her sister.

"And we won't hold it against you." Tyler added, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her toward him, resting his head on top of hers.

"Just do me a favor though." Matt said to her.

"What?" Marissa asked.

"Never give me a nickname." Matt said laughing.

"Ok, I won't, M. Don." Marissa said laughing back.

Matt shook his head and chuckled at the nickname then said,"ok, I think I'm going to go grab a beer before you think of any other lame names."

"Will you grab me one too?" Caroline asked him.

"Sure, anyone else want anything?" Matt asked, as he looked at Marissa and Tyler.

"I do." Marissa answered, then added when Caroline shot her a look,"what? It's my birthday, can't I have at least one beer?"

"Ok, but only one. I don't need you getting all drunk, Mom would kill me." Caroline said.

"Alright, three beers coming up." Matt said, as he went to walk away. He had only taken a few steps when Tyler called for him and said he would go with him to help. Tyler gave Marissa a quick kiss on the head before jogging toward Matt.

As the two boys walked away, Marissa and Caroline watched them with smiles on their faces. Caroline glanced over at her sister and continued to smile when she saw how happy her baby sister was.

Marissa turned her head to look at Caroline, then called out a 'what' when she noticed her staring at her.

"Nothing." Caroline answered, then added,"it's just nice seeing you happy. I will be the first to admit, I didn't think Tyler had it in him to be a good boyfriend, but he surprised me."

"Well actually he's not my boyfriend, we're just dating." Marissa pointed out.

"Well whatever." Caroline said with a laugh, then added,"my point is, I've never seen Tyler this serious about anyone before, it's a surprise, a good surprise and I'm happy for the both of you."

"Thanks Care." Marissa said smiling, then added,"I'm happy for you and Matt too. I never would have imagined you two together, cause you usually go for the bad boys, but I'm glad you went for him. He's one of the good ones and you two are good for each other."

"I think so too." Caroline said smiling, as she watched Matt walk back over toward them, holding three bottles of beer.

"Here you go." Matt said, as he handed each sister a bottle.

"Where's Tyler?" Marissa asked him, when she didn't see him anywhere.

"A few of his friends talked him into doing a beer chugging contest." Matt answered, then added with a laugh,"when I left he was actually winning."

"Why am I not surprised." Caroline added, as she laughed.

"I guess I better go find him and put a stop to it before he gets to drunk. Since he is my ride home." Marissa said laughing, as she gave them a wave 'bye' before walking off in search for Tyler.

After leaving Caroline and Matt, Marissa walked through all the different people standing around having a good time. She smiled and thanked the few people who wished her a happy birthday as she walked by. As she walked around alone, she was unaware that anyone was watching her.

Ben stood off to the side as he watched her, he knew he was suppose to be meeting up with Anna soon to start her plan to get her mother out of the tomb, but he couldn't help but watch the younger Forbes girl as a new plan begin to form. Since Stefan saved Elena and Bonnie, they didn't have any leverage over the Salvatore brothers, but maybe if he grabbed the birthday girl, Anna would be impressed with him.

As Ben continued to watch, Marissa saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she saw Jeremy and that new girl Anna walking into the woods together as they laughed and smiled at each other. She knew her sister or Tyler didn't invite the girl, which only left one person, Jeremy. Although she couldn't understand why he would invite a strange girl to her birthday party. She scoffed angrily and shook her head at the sight of them before quickly turning around to walk away, not wanting to see them anymore and slammed into a hard chest.

Marissa cried out in surprise and closed her eyes as she waited to hit the hard ground, instead she felt someone grabbed her arms, keeping her from falling. She opened her eyes to see who she had slammed into and who had saved her from falling, she was surprised to see that it was Ben McKittrick, a older guy who had graduated a few years ago.

"Hey, you're Ben right?" Marissa asked him, she still couldn't believe he was at her party. She remembered a few years ago when Caroline, Bonnie and Elena all had a huge crush on him, he was the big man on campus after all.

"Yep and you're Rissa Forbes." Ben said, as he smiled at her.

"You know who I am?" Marissa asked him with a surprise expression on her face.

"Of course I do, I could never forget a pretty face." Ben said, as he checked her out. He wasn't lying, she was a pretty girl.

Marissa lowered her head and blushed at his words, then looked up at him and smiled when he said,"I hear it's your birthday, so happy birthday."

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she continued to smile at him.

"So how old are you now?" Ben asked her.

"Sixteen." Marissa answered.

"Damn, almost legal." Ben joked, as he took a step closer to her.

Marissa softly chuckled at his comment as she took a sip from the bottle and glanced around feeling uncomfortable. Ben might be very hot, but he was also starting to creep her out by staring at her, she couldn't help but wonder what he was up to, but before she could think to hard about it, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and heard Tyler speak as he asked what was going on.

"Hey Lockwood." Ben called out with a friendly smile on his face, then asked,"how's the football season going?"

"Not good since our Coach was killed." Tyler snapped. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to this guy, all he really wanted to do was get his girl away from him. He saw the flirty looks Ben was sending her from where he was standing earlier and he didn't like it.

"Right, I heard about that. That sucks." Ben mumbled, as he glanced back down to look at Marissa again.

Tyler tightened his hold on her and shot a look at Ben as he said,"well if you're done, I need to steal my girl away."

Marissa raised her head and looked at Tyler in surprise at his comment, he had never called her 'his girl' before and she wondered what that meant. Did he honestly think of her that way or was he just saying it cause he was jealous. She wasn't sure, but she was going to find out.

"Yeah man, that's cool." Ben said, as he held up his hands in surrender then said,"I was just telling her happy birthday."

"Well you did and now we have to go." Tyler snapped, as he removed his arms from her waist and grabbed her hand to led them away from Ben. The sooner they got away from him, the better he will feel.

"Wait Tyler, slow down." Marissa called out, as Tyler quickly led her in the opposite direction from where they had been standing.

Tyler ignored her words as he continued to pull her roughly behind him, he didn't mean to take his anger out on her but he couldn't help but feel pissed off right now and he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Tyler, stop." Marissa said, as she jerked her hand out of his and stopped walking. She waited for him to turn around to look at her before she asked,"what is going on with you?"

"Nothing." Tyler mumbled, as he reached for her hand again. He sighed in frustration when she pulled her hand away from him.

"What was that about back there?" Marissa asked him.

"Nothing ok?" Tyler snapped, then asked,"now can we drop it?"

"No we can't just drop it." Marissa said, then added,"I could be wrong, but it seemed like you were jealous back there and ..."

"Well you are wrong." Tyler said, interrupting her. He folded his arms across his chest then said,"did you forget who I am? I'm Tyler Lockwood, I don't get jealous."

"Wow, really? Are you really going to pull that with me Ty?" Marissa asked him angrily.

"All I'm trying to say is, I don't get jealous cause I can get anyone I want." Tyler said with a cocky grin on his face, then he added,"I was just trying to protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me, I can take care of myself." Marissa snapped.

"Don't be so naive Rissa. Guys like Ben are only after one thing, he's a player." Tyler snapped back.

"Funny, people say the same thing about you." Marissa pointed out.

Tyler clenched his jaw in angry at her comment, without even thinking he said something he later regretted. "Well maybe they are right about me, maybe I am only after one thing from you. Who knew you would be so easy to fall for that."

Marissa gasped in surprise at his words as she raised her hand and slapped him across the face before stomping off. She felt tears in her eyes as she heard his words over and over again in her mind, she couldn't believe he actually said that to her. She continued to walk until she got to the edge of the woods, only then did she stop walking and turned her bottle up to drink the rest of the beer. She glanced off to the side and saw a group of people standing around, passing a big bottle of liquor between them. Without a second thought, she walked over to them and asked if she could have some. After they handed her the bottle, half full of dark liquid, she turned the bottle up and drank it all in one swallow. She ignored their cheering and handed them the empty bottle before walking off toward the woods, feeling slightly drunk.

Normally she wouldn't walk in the woods alone, but in her drunk state, she didn't care as she walked a little deeper into the woods. As she walked in between two trees, she blinked her eyes and sighed when she realized she couldn't see well. Everything was a blur, although she wasn't sure if it was from the drinking or from her tears.

She came to a quick stop when she saw a guy and girl standing a few feet in front of her. At the moment, the two people haven't heard her, which gave her time to quickly hid behind a tree before they could see her. She wiped the tears away and squint her eyes, trying to see who the couple were. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she realized it was Jeremy leaning against a tree with Anna standing in front of him. She watched as they talked a little, then Anna leaned forward and kissing Jeremy.

Not wanting to see any more, she leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes as more tears begin to form. She couldn't figure out why it bothered her so bad to see Jeremy kissing a girl. It couldn't be cause she was jealous, cause she didn't look at Jeremy like that. All she did know was it bothered her and she didn't like it.

A few minutes later, Marissa wiped the tears from her eyes and begin to walk back toward the party. She didn't know how long she had been gone in the woods, but she did notice the party had thinned out some since she left. She couldn't help but wonder if Tyler was still here or if he had left her as she glanced around. She never saw Tyler, but she did see Matt standing alone, sipping on a bottle of beer.

"Hey, thanks for the beer." Marissa joked, as she grabbed the bottle out of his hand and took a big swallow.

"Ok, I think you've had enough." Matt said laughing, as he took the bottle from her when he saw her stumble around. "How much have you had?" He asked her.

"Enough." Marissa answered with a shrug.

"And where have you been? Tyler asked me earlier if I had seen you." Matt said.

Marissa made a face and rolled her eyes as she said,"screw Tyler, I don't want to talk to him."

"Oh no, what did he do now?" Matt asked with a groan.

"What he does best, be a total jackass." Marissa answered.

Matt sighed as he ran a hand over his hair, he couldn't believe Tyler was blowing this. He knew how much Tyler actually liked her, but he also knew the bad anger problem Tyler had. He could only guess they had argued about something, then Tyler snapped and said something stupid. He just better hope, Marissa would forgive him or he knew Tyler would never forgive himself.

"Rissa, listen, whatever Tyler said, I'm sure he feels bad about it and ..."

"I don't care, I don't want to talk about it." Marissa mumbled, interrupting him. She glanced around then asked,"so where's my sister?"

Matt sighed again as he said,"I'm, uh, I'm kind of avoiding her at the moment."

"Why?" Marissa asked with a concern expression on her face.

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with the whole public couple thing." Matt answered, then added,"we saw Elena and Damon earlier tonight, and as soon as we saw them, your sister grabbed my hand, like she was staking her claim or something."

"I'm sure that's not why she did it. There is something you need to understand about Caroline, believe it or not, she's very insecure, especially around Elena. She always feels second best to her, plus with Damon being there it probably upset her. He treated her very crappy for the short time they were together." Marissa explained.

As Matt nodded his head in agreement, Marissa said,"just give her another chance, at least to explain ok?"

"Ok." Matt answered, then added with a smile,"but only if you give Tyler a chance to explain."

Marissa sighed dramatically then said,"ok fine, I'll talk to him. Where is he?"

"The last time I talked to him, he was going to go into the woods to look for you." Matt said, as he pointed in the area he saw Tyler walk to.

"Ok thanks." Marissa said, as he gave Matt a quick hug then made her way toward the woods. She stumbled deeper into the woods and glanced around for Tyler, unfortunately she never saw him, instead she saw Ben and Stefan ahead of her. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she watched them, they appeared to be in a heated argument. She begin to walk toward them, hoping to help in case they begin to fight. She came to a sudden stop when she saw Ben rush toward Stefan, then she saw Stefan pick up something from the ground. She gasped in surprise and placed a hand over her mouth, when she saw Stefan set Ben on fire. Her eyes widened when she saw Stefan look up and lock eyes with her, she stumbled back a few steps, hoping to make a quick get away as Stefan continued to stare at her.

Marissa turned around, ready to run, but stopped short and gasped again when she saw Stefan standing in front of her. She looked behind her then turned her head back to look at Stefan, she couldn't understand how he got in front of her so fast.

"You wasn't suppose to see that." Stefan said, as he stepped toward her, causing her to take a step back.

"I-I didn't see anything." Marissa lied.

"I'm sorry Rissa, but I have to do this." Stefan said, as he reached out toward her. She shut her eyes and threw her hands up in front of her face, as she tried to prepare herself for what he was about to do.

Stefan grabbed the bracelet around her wrist, the one he knew had vervain in it, and pulled it off her wrist. He placed the bracelet in his pocket then looked back up at her as she lowered her arms.

Stefan looked into her eyes and hoped he was strong enough to compel her as he said,"you're going to forget what you saw. You were drunk and lost in the woods, then you past out."

"I didn't see anything, I was just lost." Marissa mumbled back.

"Good. Now go to sleep." Stefan said, as he continued to look into her eyes.

Marissa felt her eyes roll back as she begin to fall toward the ground. Stefan quickly caught her then picked her up in his arms, he used his vampire speed to carry her closer to the party, where someone would find her, then laid her gently down on the ground. He carefully placed the bracelet back on her wrist before speeding off again toward the tomb, leaving her alone.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Tyler ran a hand over his hair and sighed as he walked through the woods. He still couldn't believe how badly he messed up. He had made plenty of mistakes in his past, but nothing as bad as what he did tonight. Not only did he say some bad and hurtful things to Marissa, but he also lied to her, he let his jealousy get the best of him and took it all out on her, the one person he never wanted to hurt, he hurt badly. Now all he could hope for was her forgiveness, if he could ever find her.

Ever since she slapped him and stormed off, he had been looking for her. He walked through all the people at the party looking for her with no luck, then he asked everyone he came across, but noone had seen her, now he was walking alone in the dark woods, just hoping to find her. He knew usually she wouldn't walk alone in the woods, but since she was pissed at him, she might wanted to hide from everyone or at least that was what he was hoping for.

After walking through most of the woods and not seeing Marissa or anyone at all, he begin to make his way back toward the party. He was almost to the edge of the woods when he saw something on the ground a few feet away from him, he slowly made his way toward it, not sure what it could be. He knew it wasn't there earlier when he first walked into the woods. The closer he got, he begin to realize it was a person laying on the ground. When he saw a glimpse of blond hair, he felt his heart jump up into his throat, he was hoping and praying the person laying on the ground, not moving, was not Marissa.

Tyler quickly ran over to the person and fell down to the ground beside the body. He carefully laid on hand on the person's shoulder and turned them toward him. He gasped in surprise when he realized it was Marissa. He had a flashback of the time Vicki was attacked in some woods and he couldn't help but worry that it had happened again. He quickly looked over her body for blood, cuts, injuries or anything, but was relieved to find nothing. Next he laid two fingers against her neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he found a pulse. He didn't know what he would have done if he didn't find one, he didn't even want to think about losing her that way.

When he realized she was just passed out, he carefully sat her up then picked her up off the ground. Once he had her comfortable and secure in his arms, he stood up from the ground and begin to make his way toward his car. He was almost to the car, when she groaned and slowly opened her eyes to see who was holding her. She softly smiled and mumbled his name, when she saw it was him.

"Shh, it's ok baby. I got you." Tyler whispered to her, hoping to comfort her.

Marissa laid her head on his shoulder and giggled as she said,"Tyler Lockwood, my big jerky hero."

Tyler held on to her tight as he leaned down and opened the passenger door, he sat her down in the seat, with her legs dangling out of the car, then he squatted down in front of her. He pushed back a lock of hair then said,"yeah that's me, the big bad jerk."

"You're not bad Ty, but you can be a jerk sometimes." Marissa slurred, as she laid her head against the seat and looked at him.

Tyler looked down at the ground at her words, he knew she was right, he could be a jerk sometimes, but he honestly didn't know why. He quickly looked up when she begin to speak again.

"But why? Why are you such a jerk sometimes?" Marissa asked, then she begin to ramble,"you really hurt me tonight Ty and I don't understand why you would say the things you said to me. I mean, feel free to be your jerky self to everyone else if that makes you happy, but you don't have to be that way with me. God, don't you know I would do anything for you?"

Tyler looked back down at the ground and felt his heart break as he softly said,"maybe you made a mistake dating me. I told you all I would do was hurt you."

Marissa scoffed and rolled her eyes at his comment. She waited until he looked at her then she said,"don't do that Ty, not with me."

"Don't do what?" Tyler asked confused.

"Don't shut yourself off and run at the first sign of trouble." Marissa answered, then added,"I'll admit, I don't know much about relationships and dating, but I do know this, relationships of any kind are hard. As much as I love Caroline, even we fight from time to time, but the trick is how you handle those fights. You have to be open and honest, through the good and the bad, to make them work. So the big question is, do you want to make this work?"

Tyler laid a hand on the ground and turned his body around before sitting down on the ground with his back against the back door of the car. He knew he should probably be looking at her when he opened up his heart, but he just couldn't do it, the things he was about to say, he had never said to a girl before and he couldn't look at her as he said it, for fear of her reaction or worse, her rejection.

He took a deep breath and slowly released it then begin to say,"look Ris, I-I feel terrible about what I said tonight, not only cause I know it hurt you, but cause I wasn't being honest with you. The truth is, when I saw Ben talking to you, I was jealous. I was going insane with jealously cause the thought of losing you, kills me. Also I don't know why I said I was only after you for one thing, cause that's not true either, I want to be with you cause I-I care about you, a lot. All of this is new to me too, I mean yeah, I dated a lot of girls, but I always saw them as disposable. But with you, it's different, the things I feel are different and the things I feel for you are real and new. So to answer your question, yes I do want to make this work, more than anything I want to make this work. I just hope you still feel the same."

Once he was done talking, he laid his head back against the car door and held his breath as he waited for her to speak, he was hopeful that she felt the same as he did, but was fearful that she didn't. After a couple minutes of silence, he lowered his eyebrows in confusion and softly called out her name as he stood up and looked inside the car. He sighed when he saw her slumped in the seat with her eyes closed.

"Great, I spill my guts to you and you pass out." Tyler mumbled sarcastically to himself.

He carefully grabbed her legs and placed them inside the car before closing the door. Once he knew she was safe inside, he made his way over to the driver side door then slid behind the wheel. He looked over at her, watching as she slowly breathed in and out before he started the car and made the quiet drive back to her house.

In what seemed like no time at all, he parked the car in front of the Forbes house. He reached over to grab her house key from the pocket in her jacket he had seen her place it in earlier that night. With key in hand and Marissa in his arms, he made his way to the house and into her bedroom, luckily without dropping her. He carefully placed her on the bed, removed the boots she was wearing then pulled the comforter over her body. Once he was done, he looked down at her and was unsure on how he should be feeling right now, mainly cause he didn't know where they stood at the moment. He knew how he felt and what he wanted, but didn't know what she was thinking. Did she feel the same way, did she want the exact same things he wanted? Or was she finally tired of his BS and ready to move on?

Before he could think any further, he looked at her one last time then turned around to leave the room. Before he could take a step, he felt her reach out and grab his hand. He turned his head to look at her and felt his heart skip a beat when she whispered for him to stay. He nodded his head and pulled back the comforter to lay down as she scooted over to make room. As soon as he was comfortable on his back, Marissa laid beside him on her side with her head resting on his chest. He begin to run his fingers through her hair and watched the top of her head, rise and fall, and he breathed in and out.

After several silent minutes past, Tyler closed his eyes, assuming she was back asleep. He was surprised when he heard her whisper his name, asking if he was still awake.

"Yeah?" Tyler whispered back.

Marissa raised her head to look at him, then she smiled as she said quietly,"I care about you too."

Tyler looked at her with a confused look on his face until it hit him, only then did his face change into a shocked expression when he realized she heard every word he said earlier. He thought she had fallen asleep during his huge confession, but no, she heard it all. He smiled back as he rested his hand on the side of her neck and pulled her toward him for a long and gently kiss.

After the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers then said,"so you heard that huh?"

"Yep, every word." Marissa said smiling, as she looked into his eyes.

"Good, I meant for you to hear it all." Tyler said, as he kissed her forehead before she laid her head back down on his chest.

"Hey Ty, can I ask you something?" Marissa asked, as she slowly moved her finger in a circular motion on his chest.

"Yeah, go ahead." Tyler answered.

"What did you mean tonight when you made that comment to Ben?" Marissa asked.

"Which one?" Tyler asked, although he had a feeling which comment she meant.

"The one when you called me your girl, I mean, you never said something like that before and I wasn't sure what you meant by it." Marissa explained.

"It was nothing, I was just..." Tyler begin to say, until she lifted her head to look at him and say,"we're suppose to be honest remember? No matter what, just be honest with me."

"Right." Tyler said, as he took a deep breath then added,"ok, the truth is, I said it cause that's what I see you as, as mine and I don't mean like I feel like I own you or anything, I just mean, you're the only girl I want Rissa. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable by saying that, it's just how I feel."

"Is this your roundabout way of asking me to be your girlfriend?" Marissa asked smiling, as she raised her head and looked at him.

"I guess it is." Tyler said smiling back, then he asked seriously,"Marissa Forbes, would you be my girlfriend?"

"I thought you would never ask." Marissa said smiling, then said,"of course I will."

Tyler continued to smile as he gave her a quick kiss before laying his head back with a groan, then he said,"God, that was pretty corny and lame. Why do you always bring out my lameness Ris?"

"That wasn't lame, it was sweet." Marissa argued with a laugh, then added,"besides, I happen to like your lameness."

"Just don't tell anyone, I .."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Can't mess up your precious reputation." Marissa joked.

Tyler laughed as he gave her a quick kiss before she laid her head back down. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he closed his eyes and waited on sleep to come. He was almost asleep when he heard he ask him what time it was. He turned his head to look at her alarm clock, then said,"it's a few minutes till midnight."

"So technically, it's still my birthday." Marissa said smiling.

"Yes it is." Tyler said smiling back, then he asked,"and did you have a good birthday?"

"The best." Marissa answered.

"Good." Tyler said back, then added with a smile,"happy birthday girlfriend."

"Thank you boyfriend." Marissa said, as she leaned forward to give him a sweet kiss.

After the kiss, Marissa laid her head down on his chest and closed her eyes with a smile on her face. She wasn't lying before, this was the best birthday she had ever had. The start of it was good, and sure the middle kind of suck, but it ended just right and she wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey everyone! Here is the latest episode/chapter. As you can see I skipped the episode 'Children of the Damned' cause there was nothing for Rissa. As the season goes on, I'll probably have to skip a few more and/or combine episodes, but in season two I will be able to use Rissa a lot more. Also in the beginning of the story I hinted at Rissa just having a birthday and turning fifteen, honestly I don't know why I did that. I should have had her about to turn sixteen, but I messed myself up. So from this chapter on, she is sixteen. I hope I haven't confused anyone or messed things up, if so I apologize. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to Writteninthestars08, KyroxIsxSmexy and Sage Londyn for reviewing the last chapter. I really hope people are still reading and liking this story, if so please let me know. Thank you and happy reading :)_

_Oh also I wanted to let you all know I started a new vampire diaries story, it's called 'I Believe In You', if you wanted to check it you._

_ps. I wanted to give a special shout out to my muse lol Without you I wouldn't have been able to write some of these scenes, so thank you KyroxIsxSmexy for all your help :) _


	15. A Few Good Men

**A Few Good Men**

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Marissa's birthday and things in her life were going great. Her Mom had finally agreed to let her keep the kitten, she and Tyler went from dating to a actual relationship and things had never been better between them. Things were even going great in Caroline's life as well, which made Marissa very happy, she always loved when her sister was happy. Needless to say, things were going really great in the Forbes household, unfortunately they couldn't say the same about their friend Bonnie, who lost her grandmother the night of Marissa's birthday. Caroline and Marissa wasn't sure about all the details of what happened, Bonnie had not wanted to talk about it much, all they knew was she passed away that night in her bed. The two sisters were by Bonnie's side for days, until she went out of town for a bit to stay with family members, she said it was to hard to stay in town and needed a break, which the two sisters understood, but they made sure to call their friend constantly in case she needed someone to talk to.<p>

Which was who Caroline was talking to one morning when Marissa walked out of her bedroom holding her kitten Chunky Monkey in her arms. As Caroline continued to talk on the phone, Marissa grabbed a can of cat food and dumped the food into a small bowl and sat it on the floor. She placed the kitten on the floor in front of the bowl then walked over to the sink and filled another bowl full of water before sitting it beside the food bowl. She watched the kitten eat for a few seconds then looked over at her sister.

"Just remember me and Rissa are here for you, if you need anything call us ok?" Caroline said to Bonnie over the phone. She was silent for a minute while Bonnie said something back, then she added,"alright, we love you. Come home soon. Bye."

"How's Bonnie?" Marissa asked, as Caroline ended the call and sat the cordless phone down on the counter.

"Not good." Caroline said sadly.

"Did she say when she's coming home?" Marissa asked.

Caroline shook her head then said,"all she said was she's not ready to come home yet, but maybe later."

"Oh." Marissa mumbled. Even though she understood why she wasn't ready to come back, she hoped she would soon. She really missed Bonnie.

"So how's the little kitten adjusting?" Caroline asked, changing the subject as she watched the little kitten quickly eat his food.

"Really good." Marissa said smiling, as she looked down to watch him too.

"I'm really glad Mom let you keep him. It's nice having a little kitten in the house," Caroline said, as she looked up at her sister with a smile, then she warned playfully as she said,"although if he tries to chew on one of my shoes again, I will throw him outside."

"Don't worry, I will keep him out of your closet." Marissa said laughing, then added,"I'm glad Mom finally came around too. I begged her hours but it only took Tyler five minutes to get her to agree."

"That boy has a way with words I guess." Caroline said, as she turned around to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, he can be charming when he wants." Marissa said smiling, then joked,"how do you think he got me?"

"Ew, I don't want to hear about him 'getting you'." Caroline said, as she turned back around with a disgusted look on her face.

Marissa laughed then said,"I'm not talking about sex Care."

Caroline leaned against the counter and took a sip from the coffee cup then asked,"so have you two?"

"Have we what?" Marissa asked, playing dumb as she turned away from Caroline and grabbed a apple from the fruit bowl that was sitting on one of the counters.

Caroline rolled her eyes and chuckled at her sister then said,"you know what I'm talking about. Have you and Tyler had sex?"

Marissa took a bit from the apple and folded her arms across her chest as she shake her head while chewing, after she swallowed the bite of apple she said,"wow you're really nosy in the morning."

"Look, I'm not telling you to go out and have sex. Trust me I would rather you wait until you're like thirty, but if you are going to do it, just please be safe ok?" Caroline said sincerely.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready for that." Marissa admitted. She shifted from one foot to the other one, feeling very uncomfortable as she asked,"how-how do you know if you're ready?"

"When you're ready, you know." Caroline answered.

Marissa scoffed and rolled her eyes as she said,"that is such a cliche thing to say Care."

"I know, but it's the truth Ris." Caroline said.

"How did you know you were ready when it was your first time?" Marissa asked.

Caroline smiled as she thought back to the first time she had sex, it was a guy she had been dating for awhile a couple of years ago, he was a few years older than her, but he was captain of the football team and one of the hottest guys at school.

"I just felt in my heart that it was right you know? I cared a lot about him and I wanted to be as close to him as I could be, I had all this love building up inside me and just needed to get it out." Caroline explained, then asked,"so do you think you are there yet?"

"I don't know." Marissa answered, then added."plus it's not like Tyler is rushing things, we haven't even talked about it."

"But you have thought about it?" Caroline asked.

"A few times." Marissa admitted shyly, as her cheeks turned red from embarrassment.

"Well just take it slow and see what happens." Caroline suggested, then added with a sigh,"I can't believe I am giving my little sister sex advice."

Marissa laughed then said as she begin to walk out of the kitchen,"face it Care, you're little sis is growing up."

"Yeah well stop that. Stop growing." Caroline called out laughing.

All Caroline heard back was laughter as Marissa walked into her bedroom to get ready before Tyler came to pick her up. After taking a shower and changing into a pair of blue jeans and a plain black low-cut top, she thought back to her conversation with Caroline earlier. She wondered if she was ready to take that step with Tyler yet, at the moment the most they had done was kiss, which she enjoyed a lot and she had thought about having sex with him more than she let on. A part of her felt like she was ready, but another part was really scared. What if hurt? What if she messed up? It was no secret that Tyler had way more experience than her, what if afterwards he realized she wasn't who he wanted? These were the thoughts that ran through her head throughout the day. All she could do was what Caroline said, just take it slow and see what happens.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

A few hours later, Marissa was laid on her stomach across Tyler's bed, with a math book opened in front of her. She glanced at the problem she was working on then begin to write the answer on the notebook beside the book. Once she was done with that problem, she looked back at the book to being working on the next one. She went to write the answer down, when she felt like someone was looking over her shoulder. She dropped her pencil and turned her head to see Tyler, who was sitting behind her, with his math book laying on the bed and notebook in his lap. He was suppose to be working on his own homework, but instead he was reading what she wrote down before writing something on his own notebook.

"What are you doing?" Marissa asked with a laugh, as she sat up and turned to face him.

"Just seeing what you got for question five." Tyler answered, as he looked up from his notebook.

"You do realize we are in different math classes right?" Marissa asked.

"I do now." Tyler answered, as he placed his notebook inside the math book then shut it before tossing it onto his bed.

"Have you been cheating off of me this whole time?" Marissa asked, as she laughed at him.

"No." Tyler lied, then added when she shot him a look,"ok yeah, just a little bit."

Marissa laughed again then held out her hand as she said,"hand me your book, I'll help you."

"Or we could take a study break." Tyler suggested, as he scooted across the bed closer to her.

"Already? We just got started Ty, don't you think we should at least finish one subject before we take a break?" Marissa asked.

Tyler nodded his head as he moved even closer to her then said,"yeah your right and I know something you can help me with."

"And what is that?" Marissa asked.

Tyler didn't say anything as he shot her a grin before leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers for a sweet and short kiss. Once the kiss was done, he leaned back then said,"see you're helping me already. Care to help me some more?"

Marissa giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck then said,"yes, but only cause that was kind of cute. It was very corny but also kind of cute."

"Well what can I say, I am a cutie." Tyler said with a grin still on his face, as he leaned forward to kiss her again.

What started out as a slow, gentle kiss quickly being to heat up. Tyler wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her body closer to his, causing her to straddle his lap as he held her close. He moved his hands from around her waist and rested them on her hips, he fought hard not squeeze her hips to tight, he wanted her as close to him as possible but nothing felt close enough. He had never wanted a girl as much as he wanted her right now, but the last thing he wanted to do was push her. Although that thought went out of his head when she quietly moaned and nibbled his bottom lip.

Without a second though, he leaned forward, laying her on her back on the bed before laying on top of her. He softly kissed her lips then kissed down to the side of her neck. As he nibbled and sucked on her neck, he moved one of his hands down her side then grabbed onto the bottom of the shirt she was wearing. He raised his head to look at her, making sure he wasn't making her feel uncomfortable or pushing her to far. When she smiled and gave him a little nod before kissing him, he took that as a good sign as he begin to raise the shirt past her flat stomach and up past her black lacy bra. He was about to lift it over her head when he heard a light knock at the bedroom door.

Tyler quickly sat up then held his hand out to help Marissa to sit up as well. As he called out to tell the person at the door they could come in, Marissa pushed her shirt back down and smooth out her hair. They both grabbed their school books just as the door opened and his Mom, Carol walked in.

"Hey honey." Carol said with a smile when she saw her son. She glanced over at Marissa then said kindly,"oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company."

"It's ok Mom." Tyler said.

"What are you two doing?" Carol asked, as she walked further into the room.

"Homework." Tyler answered vaguely.

"Yep homework, just homework and nothing else." Marissa rambled uncomfortably, then she shut her mouth when Tyler shot her a look. She really hoped Mrs. Lockwood couldn't tell what she had been doing with her son a few seconds before she knocked on the door.

"Well that's good, Tyler needs all the help he can get in school." Carol said.

"Yeah, he has a lot of problems." Marissa joked, as she glanced down at his lap. He followed her eyes then quickly grabbed a pillow and placed it in his lap before his mother could figure out what they were talking about.

"That he does." Carol added, never knowing what the two teens were talking about.

"Hey, I'm right here. You two don't have to talk about me." Tyler pointed out.

"I'm sorry honey, I just really wished you would pull up your grades." Carol said, then added,"maybe Marissa could help you get it up."

Marissa turned her head and bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing at loud at the comment, but she couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping when Tyler said,"don't worry Mom, Rissa is helping me to get it up."

"Good, that's really great to hear." Carol said, then added as she looked at Marissa,"thank you for your help with Tyler, Dear."

"No problem, Mrs. Lockwood." Marissa said, as she tried to keep a straight face.

"So is there something I can help you with Mom?" Tyler asked to change the subject, when he saw that Marissa was about to burst out laughing.

"Oh yes, I wanted to ask you for a favor." Carol said to her son.

"Ok what?" Tyler asked,

"You know the fundraiser I'm hosting for the founder's council? The bachelor raffle?" Carol asked, then continued when Tyler nodded his head,"well I know it's short notice, but I was wondering if you could help me."

"Yeah, sure. What do you need help with?" Tyler asked.

"I need one more bachelor." Carol said with a hopeful smile.

"Wait, what? You want to raffle me off?" Tyler asked angrily.

"It's for a good cause." Carol pointed out.

"No way, I'm not going to be raffled off then have to go out with some weird chick who can't get a date on her own." Tyler said, as he stood up from the bed. He looked over at Marissa, hoping she could help him out as he said,"besides I'm sure Rissa wouldn't like this, right?"

"Actually I don't have a problem with it. Plus you heard your Mom, it's for a good cause." Marissa said, as she tried not to laugh at the look Tyler gave her.

"See Honey, Marissa thinks it's a good idea." Carol said smiling.

"No, I'm not doing it." Tyler said, as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Just think about it for a few hours and then let me know ok?" Carol said, hoping he would change his mind.

"I don't need a few hours to think, I'm not doing it." Tyler said angrily.

"Well, look at the time." Marissa said, as she stood up from the bed then said,"Caroline should be here soon, she's helping out at the fundraiser and I said I would help out too."

"Great, we'll see you there then." Carol said smiling.

"You won't see me there, cause I'm not going." Tyler called out, as Marissa picked up her book bag and headed toward his bedroom door.

"See you later Ty." Marissa said to him, then she looked at Carol and said,"see you at the fundraiser."

"Bye Dear." Carol said, as Marissa walked out into the hall. Once she was gone, she looked back at her son and said,"now tell me the truth, did I interrupt more than just homework?"

"No Mom, we were just doing homework." Tyler lied.

"Good cause I know you're not exactly innocent, I'm not that naive, but Marissa isn't like the usual girls you date." Carol pointed out.

"I know that Mom, but it's not like that with Rissa, it's different with her. She makes me want to be different." Tyler admitted, surprising himself. He didn't usually open up to this Mom that way.

Carol was also surprised by his comment. She smiled then said,"well I can honestly say, since you've been dating her, I have already seen a positive change in you. I'm proud of you son."

"Thanks." Tyler mumbled with a small smile.

Carol gave him a smile then said,"I'm going to go get ready, you should get ready too. We will need to leave soon."

"I told you I wasn't doing it." Tyler pointed out.

Carol sighed then said,"I know you don't want to, but if the fundraiser doesn't go right, not only would the town be disappointed but it will look bad on me, your Father, the whole family. I need your help son."

Tyler ran a hand over his head and sighed out loud then said,"ok, I'll do it on one condition."

"What?" Carol asked.

"You fix it so Rissa wins. I meant it before when I said I don't want to go out with some weird chick." Tyler answered.

"I can't do that." Carol said with a shocked expression, then added,"it wouldn't be fair to everyone."

"You could do it. No one has to know." Tyler pointed out.

Carol thought about it for a moment, then said,"I'll think about it. But if I do it, you can't tell anyone."

"I won't." Tyler promised with a smile.

"Ok." Carol said, then added as she begin to walk out the door,"I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

Tyler nodded his head as she left the bedroom. Even though she didn't say for sure she would do it, he was hopefully that she would come though in the end. Now he just had to make sure Marissa actually bought a ticket or the plan wouldn't work.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Later that night, most of the town showed up at Mystic Grill for the bachelor raffle. While Caroline was sitting at the door, taking money and handing out tickets, Marissa was on the other side of the room, fixing a poster that had fell earlier. She had just placed the poster back on the wall, when she heard someone walk up behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see Tyler standing behind her, in a pair of black dress pants, a black button down dress shirt and black jacket. She couldn't help but think of how hot he looked as he stood before her.

"Hey." Tyler said with a smile when he noticed her checking him out.

Marissa quickly looked up and said,"hey, so you did make it."

"Yeah, me and Mom worked out a deal." Tyler said with a secret smile.

"Which is?" Marissa asked.

"Nothing major. Just a little something between us." Tyler answered vaguely.

"Ok." Marissa said, then added with a laugh,"I can't believe you actually going to be in the raffle."

"It's not that big of a deal." Tyler said with a shrug, then he wrapped his arms around her waist and said,"besides I know my girl will buy a ticket and I have a good feeling she'll win."

"I'm not buying a ticket." Marissa said to him.

"Why not?" Tyler asked.

Marissa shrugged then said,"I don't know, I just didn't plan on it."

"But you have to buy one. It's for a good cause remember?' Tyler said back to her, reminding her of what she and his Mom told him earlier.

Marissa rolled her eyes at his comment, then said,"I'll think about it."

"Oh come on Ris, if you don't do it someone else will win a date with me. You know I'm sexy and a lot girls want me, this is your last chance." Tyler said, pleading with her.

Marissa chuckled at him begging her, finally she wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed dramatically as she said,"ok fine, I'll buy a ticket. But you do know there is a chance I might not win and you'll have to go out with some weird chick right?"

"I'm not worried about that, I believe you will win." Tyler said, smiling.

"Is this one of those 'if you believe you can achieve' moments?" Marissa asked with a laugh.

"Mm-hm." Tyler said, as he nodded his head and laughed back.

After the laughter died down, he pulled her closer to him and held her tight. He kissed the top of her head then said quietly,"I'm sorry before about my Mom, that was a little awkward."

"It's ok." Marissa mumbled, as she thought back to earlier when they were making out. It might not have seemed like much, but it was the furthest they had ever gone. She couldn't help but wonder how much further they would have went if his Mom hadn't interrupted them.

"I'm also sorry if I went to far earlier." Tyler added.

"It's ok." Marissa mumbled again, as she continued to think to herself.

Tyler backed away a little and lifted her head to look at her then asked,"you ok?"

Marissa didn't say a word as she nodded her head at his question, causing Tyler to look at her a little closer. He could tell she had something big on her mind and he wasn't going to stop until she told him what.

"Ok, out with it Ris. I know something is bothering you, just say it." Tyler said, as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I was just thinking." Marissa said.

"About what?" Tyler asked, trying to pull it out of her.

"I was just thinking about earlier and about, you know and wondering if we're ready, if I'm ready and I just don't know. I mean, I even talked to Caroline about it earlier, do you know how embarrassing that is, although it's better than talking to my Mom about it, but still it was embarrassing." Marissa rambled on.

She took a deep breath and went to continue to talk, but before she could say a word, Tyler laid his hand over her mouth and said,"shh, just stop for a minute. Calm down ok?"

When she nodded her head, he removed his hand and waited for her to take a breath, then he continued,"look, it's ok, you don't have to worry about anything. We won't do anything you are not comfortable with. I won't push you ok?"

"I know, it's just, I know with other girls you dated, you expected..."

"Yeah, but with you it's different. I don't expect that from you." Tyler said, interrupting her.

Marissa, misunderstanding what he was saying, looked at him with a hurt expression on her face as she asked,"so you don't want to have sex with me?"

"That's not what I'm saying Ris."

"Then what are you saying?" Marissa asked confused.

"I'm saying, you mean more to me then those other girls. They were just a way to past the time until the next girl came along, but I don't need to do that anymore, cause I got the girl I want. So I'll go as slow as you need to go, all I want is to be with you." Tyler explained softly, as he looked into her eyes the whole time.

Marissa smiled at his words, then said,"that was some pretty smooth talking there Lockwood."

"I have my moments." Tyler said smiling back.

Marissa leaned forward to softly kiss his lips, after the kiss she smiled then asked,"so does that mean you have thought about having sex with me?"

"Oh yes." Tyler said grinning, as he rested his head on top of hers

"How often?" Marissa said shyly, as she kept her head down and absentmindedly played with the top button on the shirt he was wearing.

Tyler leaned down until his mouth was inches from her ear, then he whispered,"from the time I wake up till the time I go to bed, you are constantly on my mind. You are all I think about Rissa."

Marissa lifted her head to look at him with a huge grin on her face as she asked,"really?"

"Really." Tyler answered, smiling back.

"I like the sound of that." Marissa said, as gave him a quick kiss.

Tyler laid a hand on her cheek and leaned forward to kiss her again, but before their lips could met, they heard his Mom call out his name. He sighed then took a step back then said,"I guess I should go see what she wants. Don't forget to buy a ticket ok?"

"I won't." Marissa promised, as he kissed the top of her head then walked off toward Carol.

Marissa watched him walk away and never turned around when she heard someone walk up behind her. She figured it was Caroline, needing her to do something or one of the women in town who had a question about the raffle, instead it was the last person she wanted to talk to.

"Aw does little Rissa Forbes have to pay money to get a date?" Damon asked sarcastically, as he walked up behind her with a drink in her hand.

Marissa turned to look at him, she scoffed at his comment and at the fact that he appeared to be drunk. "Not that I owe you a explanation, but no, I'm not buying a date. Tyler wanted me to buy a ticket cause he's hoping I'll win him."

Damon nodded then said with his trademark smirk,"you do realize you could not win him or you could win someone else, like me."

"Ugh, excuse me, I think I'm going to be sick." Marissa groaned, as she turned around and begin to walk away.

"Aw, you don't want a date with me?" Damon asked, pretending to be hurt as he walked along behind her. He didn't want for her to answer as he said, copying Tyler,"you know I'm sexy and a lot girls want me."

Marissa gasped in surprise as she realized he had been listening to hers and Tyler's conversation earlier. She stopped walking and turned around to face him as she asked,"you were listening?"

Damon shrugged then said dramatically,"what can I say? I dig teenage melodrama."

"I officially hate you." Marissa snapped at him, as she turned around to walk away again.

Damon chuckled as he walked behind her then said,"I told you before you would hate me. I'm just surprised it took this long."

Marissa quickly turned around, causing Damon to almost slam into her, then she said to him,"maybe if you wouldn't act like a ass people wouldn't hate you. Try acting like a normal human once and awhile."

"Maybe I'm not human." Damon said with a secret smile.

"Maybe you're right. Cause most humans have a heart and I'm starting to think you don't." Marissa spat out, as she turned and walked away for good this time. Damon stood still as he watched her walk away, he thought back to what she said, if only she knew the truth about him then she would know how right she was about him.

Marissa left Damon behind as she made her way toward the front of the restaurant, as Caroline spoke to Elena with Matt standing beside her.

"He's already been hit on, like, 35 times. He's total cougar bait." Caroline said, as she laid a hand on Matt's arm.

"Impressive." Elena said laughing.

"More like embarrassing." Matt added, as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't feel bad Matt, Tyler's cougar bait too." Marissa said laughing, as she nodded her head toward Tyler. The small group turned their heads to look at him and laughed when they saw a few of the older woman of Mystic Falls flirting with Tyler. They continued to watch as Tyler shot the women a apologetic smile then walked over toward them.

"I can't believe you are actually going to be in the raffle." Caroline said to Tyler with a laugh.

"It's not my fault, Mom is making me do it." Tyler pointed out.

"Whatever the reason, I'm never going to let you live this down." Matt said laughing at his friend.

"Shut up man." Tyler said to Matt, then he looked at Marissa and asked,"did you buy a ticket yet?"

"I was just about to do that." Marissa answered, as she handed some money to Caroline.

As Caroline handed her a ticket, the door opened and Matt's Mom, Kelly entered the restaurant and walked over to the small group.

"Hi, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline said happily. She tried not to let her smile fade as Kelly ignored her and turned to Elena with a bright smile on her face as she hugged the younger girl.

"Hi, Kelly." Elena said smiling.

"Long time, no see." Kelly said, after the hug.

"How are you doing?" Elena asked her.

"Oh, same old." Kelly answered, then added with a pout,"Matty tells me you broke his heart."

"Mom!" Matt called out, feeling embarrassed.

"Just kidding, calm down. He found his rebound girl." Kelly said, as she shot a look at Caroline.

Marissa scoffed at the comment and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say a word, Tyler spoke up and called out a friendly greeting to Kelly, hoping to ease the tension.

"Hey Tyler, how have you been doing?" Kelly asked him with a smile, then added,"I hate that things didn't work out with you and Vicki, but I'm sure she will be back soon and you two can pick up right where you left off."

"Nah he's good." Marissa said sweetly, as she wrapped a arm around his back and hugged up to him.

"Yeah, I'm good." Tyler agreed, as he smiled at Marissa and laid a arm on her shoulders. He looked at Kelly then added,"me and Vicki are over, but I hope she can get herself straighten out."

"Well at least you boys have the Forbes to fall back on, there's nothing wrong with a rebound until the right one comes along." Kelly said with a fake smile.

Tyler could feel Marissa's body tense up in anger, he knew she was about to go off on Kelly. He kissed the top of her head, hoping to calm her down before saying,"I better go see if Mom needs any help, I think the raffle is about to start."

As Tyler went to walk away, Marissa took a step toward Kelly, ready to say something. Tyler quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her along behind him as they walked over toward Carol.

"Why did you pull me away?" Marissa asked Tyler, as they walked through the restaurant.

"Cause I don't think the whole town needs to hear you cussing out Kelly." Tyler answered with a laugh.

"Sorry, that woman just pisses me off so bad." Marissa said angrily.

"What's her problem with you and your family anyway? I thought all of our parents were friends in high school." Tyler asked.

"They were friends, but Kelly swears Mom stole Dad from her." Marissa said, then added,"but they weren't even dating, Kelly doesn't date anyone, she just goes from one guy to the next."

"Well your Dad's gay, so what does it matter who was with him first?" Tyler asked.

"It shouldn't matter, but to Kelly it does." Marissa said with a sigh.

"That's stupid, she should just get over it." Tyler said. He hated the thought of someone not liking his girlfriend. Marissa was one of the sweetest girls he knew, she would never hurt anyone and he couldn't help but think how dumb it was that someone didn't like her because of something that happened years ago that had nothing to do with her.

"I agree, but I honestly don't want to talk or even think about it anymore." Marissa said. She looked up at Tyler and smiled as she asked,"so you ready to be raffled off bachelor?"

"Not really. I'm just ready for this night to be over." Tyler said with a sigh.

Marissa chuckled at his comment as they stopped in front of Carol, who was talking to some of the sound people, checking to see if they were ready to begin. Once she was done talking, she looked at the young teens in front of her and smiled.

"Hey you two. We're ready to begin. Tyler you can go ahead and go up on stage." Carol said.

"Good luck." Marissa said to him, as she squeezed his hand. He gave her a small smile, then begin to walk away and stepped up on stage.

Marissa laughed as he stood next to the other bachelors with a sour look on his face, then she looked at Carol and said,"he is so not happy about doing this."

"I know, but he knows it's important. Besides I'm sure everything will work out." Carol said smiling, as she turned to walk up the stage.

As Carol begin to talk into the microphone, Marissa glanced around, looking for someone she knew. She finally saw Jenna and Elena sitting off to the side at a table and made her way toward them.

"Hey Rissa, haven't seen you in awhile." Jenna said with a smile, as she hugged the younger girl.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Marissa said, as she hugged her back.

"It's ok, but you better come visit me soon." Jenna playfully warned.

"I will." Marissa said laughing, then she turned to Elena and gave her a quick hug as she asked,"where's Jeremy?"

"He's at home, pouting." Elena answered.

"Why? What's wrong?" Marissa asked concern. She felt bad that she had not been spending a lot of time with Jeremy lately, there was a time when she knew everything about him. What he was thinking, what he was feeling, but now she knew nothing and she hated that.

"Anna left town." Elena said.

"And that's a bad thing?" Marissa asked sarcastically.

"I take it you don't like Anna either." Jenna pointed out. She had been listening in to the two girls conversation.

"Nope, not at all." Marissa said, as she shook her head. "What about you two?" Marissa asked, as she looked at Jenna and Elena.

"I liked her, she was spunky." Jenna answered.

"I just don't think she's good for Jeremy." Elena said, leaving out the fact that she's a vampire.

"There's just something about her, I don't trust her." Marissa added.

Jenna chuckled at the girls then said,"I know you two care about Jeremy and want to protect him, but he's going to date and one of these days he's going to fall in love with the girl he dates and I think it would mean a lot to him if you two could be happy for him."

"And I will be happy for him, I just think Anna is not that girl." Elena pointed out.

Marissa didn't say anything, as Jenna and Elena talked, she kept thinking about what Jenna just said about Jeremy falling in love. She knew Jenna was right, he would fall in love one day and he did deserve to be in love with a great girl, but for some reason that thought bothered her. The thought of Jeremy being with Vicki, Anna or any girl made her heart ache.

Before she could think to hard about it, she felt Jenna touch her arm then said,"hey look, Tyler is up."

Marissa shook the thoughts from her head then looked up at the stage, where Carol was standing beside Tyler, talking about how great he was before she moved on to Alaric to talk about him then she moved on to Damon.

Marissa lowered her eyebrows in confusion as Damon talked about meeting Alaric's wife one time, she never knew he was married. She was even more confused when Elena gasped in surprise at his comment before standing up from the table.

"You ok?" Jenna asked Elena.

"I just need some air." Elena answered before she turned around and walked away.

"Should one of us go after her?" Marissa asked Jenna.

Jenna stood up and watched as Elena walked out of the restaurant. When she saw Stefan walk out behind her, she said,"no it's ok, Stefan went after her."

The two girls turned back around to look at the stage as Carol begin to call out the winners. She called out the first few bachelors, then made her way toward Tyler.

"And the winner he gets to go out on a date with my handsome son is..." Carol begin to say, then added as she read off the numbers,"37682."

Marissa looked down at her ticket and smiled when she saw she had the winning ticket. She stood up from the table and held her arm up as she said,"that's me."

"Ah Marissa, that's great. Come on up and get your bachelor." Carol said smiling.

"I'll see you later, bye." Marissa said to Jenna, as she walked toward the stage and handed Carol her ticket. Tyler smiled as he walked down the stairs and made his way over toward Marissa.

"See told you, you would win." Tyler said, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I guess I got lucky." Marissa said smiling.

"Nah, I'm the lucky one." Tyler said, as he gave her a quick kiss.

"Well you are Lucky Lockwood remember?" Marissa joked.

Tyler laughed as he thought back to their conversation weeks ago, back before they started dating. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed since that conversation and he wouldn't change a thing. He had a amazing girlfriend, he was happy and life was good. He just hoped nothing happened to change that.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey all, I know I just recently updated this story, but I'm so hooked on it that I had to update it again. I apologize for ignoring my other stories, I will be updating some of them soon as well, I'm just so ready to finish up season one on this story cause I have some good things planned for season two lol. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know it's a little shorter then usual but there wasn't a lot to work with. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Big thanks to TeamBlaus4EVER, shippolove844, Writteninthestars08 and runawaycherry93 for reviewing. Happy reading and let me know what you think :)_


	16. There Goes the Neighborhood

**There Goes the Neighborhood**

* * *

><p>Later that week, Marissa walked down the hallway of the school as she made her way toward her locker. She was happy that it was finally Friday, even though she didn't have any plans so far, she was always happy to have time off from school. She opened her locker door and took out the books she would need for her first few classes. As she placed the books inside her bag, she glanced over at the locker beside her, Jeremy's locker, and felt a pang in her heart. She missed her best friend. There was a time when she and Jeremy were inseparable, they spent every free moment together, but then she started dating Tyler, he started hanging around with Anna and they suddenly didn't have time for each other anymore. She missed his friendship, she missed their closeness, she missed everything, but mostly she just missed him.<p>

Marissa was so lost in thought, she didn't hear anyone walk up behind her. She jumped a little when she felt a set of arms wrap around her waist, then quickly relaxed when she realized it was Tyler. She could always tell when it was him, mainly cause of the way her whole body came alive when he was near, but also cause of the cologne he wore. She wasn't sure what it was that he wore, but it was a fresh, woodsy smell that made her heart race every time she caught a whiff of it.

"Hey babe." Tyler said softly into her ear. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek then rested his chin on her shoulder as she reached into her locker to grab another book.

"Hey Pookie Bear." Marissa said back with a laugh, causing him to drop his arms with a groan. He walked over to the bank of lockers and laid his head on the locker beside hers as he groaned again.

"I thought we talked about this, that name is on the 'no' list." Tyler said, as he lifted his head and looked at her.

"But that was before I become your girlfriend, now I can call you whatever I want." Marissa pointed out.

"That's not how it works Rissa." Tyler said laughing, then added,"I am officially banning you from nicknames."

"That's mean." Marissa said pouting, as she shut her locker door. She turned toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she said,"how about I just call you boyfriend then?"

"That I can live with." Tyler said smiling, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She giggled as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his for a gentle kiss.

Tyler fought hard not to push her against the lockers and have his way with her, the longer he was with her, the harder it was to not cross that line but he had promised her he wouldn't push her until she was ready and he wasn't about to break that promise to her.

As much as he didn't want to, he pulled away from her, ending the kiss. He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear then asked,"so what do you want to do today? I figured we could hang out after school or something."

"Actually I was kind of thinking of seeing if Jeremy wanted to get together and hang out for a little bit." Marissa answered slowly, worried about what his reaction would be.

"Why?" Tyler asked, as he tried to keep jealousy at bay.

Marissa twirled her finger around his hair, hoping to calm him down as she explained,"cause he's my best friend and I haven't been making a lot of time for him lately. But we can hang out after that if you want."

Tyler nodded his head, he wasn't to happy about it, but he understood. "Yeah we'll get together afterwards. You want to meet at the Grill?"

"I'll be there." Marissa said smiling, happy that he wasn't going to fight her on this. She looked over his shoulder and lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she saw Caroline and Matt down the hall. She saw Caroline lean forward to kiss Matt, but before her lips could connect with his, he walked away from her, causing her face to fall as she watched him walk away. Marissa wasn't sure what was going on between them, but she could tell her sister was upset.

"Hey, I need to go, but I'll see you later ok?" Marissa asked to Tyler, she wanted to hurry up and catch up with Caroline, to make sure she was ok.

"Yeah, ok. See you later." Tyler said, as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips before she walked past him and make her way down the hall toward Caroline.

"Care! Hey, wait up!" Marissa called out, as she run behind her sister.

"Oh hey Rissa. What's up?" Caroline said, as she slowed down and looked at her.

"Nothing much, what's going on with you?" Marissa asked.

"Nothing, just going to class, which is where you should be heading." Caroline warned playfully.

"I know, I'm heading there in a bit, but I wanted to check on you first." Marissa said, then added,"I saw you and Matt earlier, is everything ok?"

"You saw that huh?" Caroline said with a sigh, then said,"yeah, we're ok, I guess. I don't know things have been weird since his Mom came back to town, plus I'm still worried about his feelings for Elena."

"Well I'm sure a part of him still has feelings for Elena..." Marissa begin to say.

"Thanks for making me feel better." Caroline said sarcastically, interrupting her.

"Let me finish." Marissa said with a laugh, then added,"what I'm trying to say is, they were together for awhile, so I'm sure he still cares for her, but he also really likes you too, I can tell."

"You really think so?" Caroline asked with a hopeful smile.

Marissa nodded her head then said,"just think of some of your exs, I'm sure a part of you still cares for them right?"

Caroline thought hard about some of her ex boyfriends and realized her sister was right. It's hard to just turn off feelings that quick, but maybe if Matt could see how happy Elena was with Stefan and that she moved on, it would be easier for him to move on as well.

"Yeah, you're right." Caroline said, as a plan formed in her mind, which Marissa picked up on.

Marissa lightly grabbed Caroline's arm, then said,"wait a minute, I know that look, it means you have thought of a plan and chances are, it's going to be a bad one. So what are you thinking?"

"I was just thinking, if Matt could see that Elena moved on, than maybe it would help him to move on, so maybe me and Matt could go out on a double date with Elena and Stefan." Caroline answered.

Marissa opened her mouth to tell her she thought it was a bad idea, but before she could say a word, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

Caroline quickly hugged her sister then called out,"thanks for your help Ris, see you later."

Marissa stood still and tried to call out to Caroline as she ran off down the hall, but was drowned out by all the students rushing down the hall. She just hoped she could talk to Caroline again before she begin her crazy plan, cause she had a feeling if Caroline went through with the plan, it would not turn out well.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Unfortunately by the end of the school day, Marissa wasn't able to talk to Caroline in time to talk her out of her insane idea, so instead she headed toward the Gilbert house after school. She walked up to the front door and reached out to ring the doorbell, but before she could, the door opened and Jenna, who was holding a handful of papers and trying to place her purse on her shoulders, walked out.

"Jeez, Rissa, you scared me." Jenna called out, as she quickly caught a folder that almost fell out of her arms when she jumped.

"Sorry. Do you need any help?" Marissa asked her.

"No, I got it now, if I tried to move anything to hand to you, I would probably drop everything." Jenna said with a laugh.

"You sure?" Marissa asked, as she watched Jenna juggled around the papers in her hands, trying to get them in order.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Jenna said, then asked,"so what are you doing here? Not that I mind of course."

"I told you at the bachelor raffle I would visit soon, so here I am." Marissa answered, then added,"I figured I would catch up with you and Jeremy, but looks like I caught you at a bad time."

"Yeah, I'm suppose to be meeting this woman who is interested in buying Grayson's old office building." Jenna explained.

"Oh, I didn't know you all were planning on selling it." Marissa stated. She knew it was none of her business, cause it wasn't her families building and even though she knew it made sense to sell it instead of letting it go to waste, it just made it all that much more clear that Grayson and Miranda were really gone and never coming back.

"Well this woman called me and asked if I would be interested in selling it, so I talked to Elena and Jeremy about it and they were ok with it." Jenna explained.

"That's good that they are ok with it." Marissa said sincerely. As long as they were ok with it, so was she.

"Yeah." Jenna agreed, then added,"well I better get going or I'll be late, but Jeremy is in his room if you wanted to visit with him."

"Ok, thanks." Marissa said, as she gave Jenna a quick wave 'bye' before walking inside the house. She made her way up the stairs and walked over to Jeremy's bedroom door, without knocking, she walked into his room and called out a friendly 'hello'.

Jeremy, who had been sitting at his desk, chatting with people about vampires, quickly shut his laptop then turned around to face her with a nervous smile on his face. He was hopeful that she didn't see what he was looking at.

"Why do you look nervous?" Marissa asked him, as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I'm not." Jeremy answered, as he stood up from the desk chair. He walked toward the bed and sat down beside her.

"Were you looking at porn?" Marissa asked with a laugh, as she nodded her head toward his laptop.

"Yep you caught me." Jeremy joked, as he laid back on his bed. He would rather her think he was looking at porn then reading about vampires.

Marissa laughed as she laid down beside him, Jeremy looked over at her and asked,"so what are you doing here?"

"We haven't hung out in awhile so thought we could catch up." Marissa answered with a shrug, then said,"if that's ok."

"Of course it is." Jeremy said. He reached out to grab her hand, he gave it a light squeeze then said,"I'm glad you're here, I missed you."

"I missed you too Jer." Marissa said softly with a smile on her face, as she turned to look at him.

Jeremy turned his head to look back at her and felt his feelings for her come rushing back, he had thought he was moving on from her, he really tried to move on and he did like Anna, he liked her a lot and could possible fall for her, but Marissa would always have his heart and he was ok with that, just like he was ok with knowing he would never be with her. But as long as she was happy and was still his friend, he was happy too.

"So what's new?" Marissa asked him.

"Not a lot, just school." Jeremy answered, then asked,"what about you?"

"The same." Marissa answered.

"How's things with you and Tyler?" Jeremy asked.

"We're good, although I know that is the last thing you want to talk about." Marissa said with a laugh, as she shot him a look.

"You're right, I don't even know why I asked." Jeremy lied. Even though he didn't want to know, a small part of him was curious.

"Cause you're nosy." Marissa joked.

"I'm not nosy." Jeremy called out, as he sat up in bed.

"Just a little bit." Marissa added, as she held two of her fingers inches apart.

"You better take that back or else." Jeremy playfully warned.

"Or else what?" Marissa asked, calling his bluff.

Jeremy ignored her question as he begin to tickle her sides, causing her to scream out laughter as she tried to get away from his hands. She tried to roll away from him, but she didn't make it far, as he wrapped a arm around her waist and pulled her body back toward him before continuing with his tickle attack.

"Ok... ok... I take it back." Marissa called out, as she continued to laughed and pushed his hands away from her.

"You are so easy." Jeremy joked, then added,"I could always get you to back down with just a little tickle."

"That was more than a little." Marissa pointed out, as she sat up. She reached out to tickle him on the back of his neck, the only place he was ticklish at, then said,"that is a little tickle."

"Stop that!" Jeremy called out, as he pushed her hand away. She was the only one who knew his secret tickle spot, but what she didn't know was, it was also his turn-on spot as well.

"Aw, what's wrong Jer? You can dish it but can't take it?" Marissa teased, as she tickled him again.

"That's it! You are asking for it now." Jeremy called out, as he tackled her, causing them both to fall back on the bed as he begin to tickle her sides again.

Marissa laughed out loud and wiggled around, trying to get out from under him, when she figured out that wasn't going to work, she begin trying to grab his hands to stop him. After trying for a few seconds, she was finally able to grab both of his wrist. She shifted her weight and rolled them over, with her on top, straddling his waist.

Marissa leaned forward and laid his arms on the bed above his head, lightly holding his wrist, then called out,"ha! got ya!"

Jeremy looked up at her and couldn't help but smile at the position they were in. He would be lying if he said haven't thought about having her on top of him many times. He had honestly had many dreams that had started just like this. He removed his wrist from her hold and intertwined his fingers with hers, holding both of her hands as he continued to look up at her.

Marissa looked down at him with a confused look on her face when she noticed the look he was giving her, she had seen that look plenty of times from Tyler right before he leaned forward to kiss her, but never from Jeremy and she knew there was no way he could be thinking about kissing her. She and Jeremy were just friends, plus he knew she had a boyfriend now, so there was no way he could be thinking that or at least that's what she hoped, but she become even more confused when he did, in fact begin to raise his head and moved his face closer to hers. She held her breath and watched as his lips came closer and closer to hers. She didn't know what came over her as she felt her eyelids flutter as they slowly closed and she tilted her head to the side.

Jeremy smiled as he saw her eyes close, he was so close to kissing her, but before his lips could connect with hers, they heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

Marissa gasped in surprise and quickly jumped back, causing her to fall off the bed and into the floor. Jeremy sat up and looked down at her as he laughed and asked,"are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Marissa mumbled, as she stood up. She had no idea what just happened, or almost happened, but she was thankful for the bell ringing.

Jeremy laughed at her again as he stood up from the bed then said,"let me go see who this is, I'll be right back, don't move."

"Actually, I should probably get home, so I'll see you later." Marissa said, feeling uncomfortable as she stood up from the floor.

"Ok." Jeremy mumbled, as he turned around and headed toward his bedroom door. He walked down the stairs with Marissa slowly walking along behind him, he was silently cursing himself and the doorbell. He don't know what came over him to try to kiss her, he was just caught up in the moment and decided to go for it, now he was worried he had ruined their friendship.

Jeremy reached out for the door as the bell rang again and was surprised to see Anna standing on the other side with a smile on her face.

"Anna?" Jeremy asked, not only was he surprised to see her but he was also pretty sure she was a vampire. He had seen her face the night of Marissa's birthday party after they kissed, although he never told anyone.

"Surprised?" Anna asked him back.

"I thought you left town." Marissa asked with a shocked look on her face, as she stood behind Jeremy. She too was surprised to see Anna standing before them.

"Change of plans." Anna said to her, then she looked at Jeremy and said,"sorry, I thought you'd be psyched."

"No, no, no. I mean, I am. Of course I am." Jeremy said, as he smiled at her.

"Alright then, step aside." Anna said, as she walked past him to step into the house.

"Um, Jer, can I talk to you for a minute?" Marissa asked, as she shot a look at Anna then looked at him.

"Yeah." Jeremy answered, then he looked at Anna and said,"why don't you go wait for me in the kitchen, I'll be right there."

"Ok." Anna said with a shrug, as she walked into the kitchen. She used her vampire hearing to see what they were about to talk about.

"What is she doing here? Elena told me she left town and now she just shows up." Marissa whispered to Jeremy.

"You heard her, she changed her mind so I guess she's staying." Jeremy whispered back.

"You don't find that weird? I mean, what do you even know about this girl?" Marissa asked.

"I know she's new to town and don't know a lot of people, so it wouldn't hurt you to be nicer." Jeremy snapped, then added,"besides I kind of like her."

"You do?" Marissa asked surprised. She couldn't believe just a few minutes before, it seemed like he was going to kiss her and now he was admitting to liking some other girl, although she knew it shouldn't bother her, she did have a boyfriend who she cared a lot about, but surprisingly it did bother her.

"Yeah I do, so just give her a chance." Jeremy said.

"I'm sorry Jer, but I can't. There is something weird about her, she just shows up in town one day, we know nothing about her, her past or her family. I've never seen her at school..."

"She's homeschooled." Jeremy pointed out, interrupting her.

"Well she's still weird." Marissa hissed.

Jeremy sighed then said,"Rissa, be nice."

"Wow, it's just like Vicki all over again." Marissa snapped, as she begin to walk toward the front door.

"What do you mean by that?" Jeremy asked angrily.

Marissa turned around to face him as she said,"I told you over and over again that Vicki was bad news, but you never listened. She was going nowhere and was taking you with her, then she ran off and hurt you, now you have gotten yourself straightened out. You stop drinking, stopped doing drugs, you got your grades up, but now here comes in a new girl and you are once again not listening to me."

Jeremy rolled his eyes then said,"it's not like that Rissa. You don't even know Anna, if you have some kind of proof then maybe I would listen. Besides it's not like you ever listen to me either. I have warned you hundreds of times about Tyler, but you still went after him."

"Leave Tyler out of this, this has nothing to do with him." Marissa snapped.

"Of course it does." Jeremy snapped back, then added,"he's a dick and we all know it, but you don't listen. He's only going to hurt you."

Marissa scoffed at his comment then said,"you don't know him the way I do, he's not going to hurt me."

"And you don't know Anna the way I do." Jeremy shot back.

"Fine! Do whatever, see if I care." Marissa snapped, as she threw up her hands in frustration.

"Fine." Jeremy said back, he folded his arms across his chest then said,"when Tyler does hurt you and he will, don't come crying to me."

"Trust me, I won't." Marissa said, as she opened the front door. She turned her head to look at him then said,"and when Anna runs off and breaks your heart, don't call me."

"I won't." Jeremy called out, as he watched Marissa walk out the door and slam the door shut. He sighed as he ran a hand over his hair, as much as he hated fighting with Marissa, he had other things on his mind, like trying to find out if Anna was in fact a vampire or not and he had a idea how to find out.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After leaving the Gilbert house, Marissa went through a few back yards, taking the shortcut she had been taking for years, to get to her house. She walked through the front door and was instantly pounced on by her kitten and Caroline, who were both by the front door waiting on her to come home.

"Where have you been?" Caroline called out, as Marissa bent down to pick up the small kitten.

"Making a huge mistake." Marissa mumbled, as she pet and loved on the kitten.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked confused.

"Nothing, just same old movie, different characters." Marissa mumbled, as she kissed the kitten on top of the head.

"Rissa, what happened?" Caroline asked sincerely.

"I went to go see Jeremy after school, figured we could hang out and catch up. Things were going fine, then Anna showed up and the next thing I know we're arguing." Marissa answered with a sigh, leaving out the almost kiss, if that was even what it was, she still wasn't sure and just wanted to forget about it.

"You and Anna argued?" Caroline asked, still confused.

"No, me and Jeremy did, about Anna, then about Tyler." Marissa answered, then added as she shook her head,"it was stupid and I don't want to even talk about it anymore."

"Well I know a way to get your mind off of things." Caroline said, then added,"I need a favor."

"What?" Marissa asked.

"What are you and Tyler doing tonight?" Caroline asked, ignoring her question.

"I'm actually about to go meet him at the Grill." Marissa answered, still not sure what Caroline's big favor was, but she had a feeling it was going to be a bad idea.

"That's perfect, that will work." Caroline said smiling.

"What will work? What are you talking about Care?" Marissa asked, confused.

"I asked Elena and Stefan to double date with me and Matt and since you and Tyler will be there at the Grill, we all can go there, that will be even better. It will be like a group date." Caroline explained.

Marissa groaned then asked,"why do I feel like this is going to be a bad idea?"

"It won't be a bad idea. It'll be fun, you'll see." Caroline pointed out, then begin to beg,"please Rissa, please?"

"Ok, fine. We'll be there anyway, so it won't be that bad I guess." Marissa said.

"Thank you!" Caroline squealed out, as she leaned forward and gave her a quick hug.

After giving the kitten some food and fresh water, Marissa sent Tyler a quick text, letting him know the change in plan as the two sisters left the house and made their way toward the Grill. As the sisters walked inside the Grill, they glanced around the restaurant and saw Elena, Stefan, Matt and Tyler sitting at a table together. Elena and Stefan were talking to a uncomfortable Matt, while Tyler glanced around looking bored out of his head. He wasn't happy about the triple date, but went along with it for Marissa, although if it was up to him, he would grab her and get the hell out of there, he would rather be spending time alone with her, instead of being on some lame group date.

"Hey!" Caroline called out happily, as she walked over to the table, with Marissa walking behind her.

Tyler, seeing Marissa, jumped out of his chair and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her to hug her, as Caroline sat down beside Matt. While the others begin to talk amongst themselves, Tyler whispered in Marissa's ear,"do we really have to do this?"

"Do what?" Marissa whispered back.

"This group date thing." Tyler answered quietly.

Marissa sighed then whispered,"I know, I don't want to do it either, but Caroline needs me."

As Tyler nodded his head in understanding, she continued,"let's just hang out with them for a bit, make sure things will go ok, then we can go. Maybe we could go to your house and watch a movie or something."

"A horror movie?" Tyler asked with a grin, he knew how much she hated them and weirdly enough, he wanted to see her all scared and jumpy.

Marissa groaned then said,"ok, we'll watch a horror movie."

"It's a deal then." Tyler said smiling, as he kissed her forehead then he grabbed her hand and led her toward the table.

The group date was off to a slow and awkward start, everyone had ordered something to eat and the whole table was quiet as they all picked over their food, trying to think of something to talk about.

Elena dropped a french fry onto her empty plate then cleared her throat as she looked at Matt and asked,"so, Matt, How do you like working here?"

Matt shrugged then said,"it's not that bad. Wait staff is pretty good and they can't keep a bartender to save their lives. I actually put my mom up for a job."

Marissa rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her drink, in her opinion, 'Kelly' and 'bartender' were two words that should not be used together. She glanced at her sister and could tell she was thinking the same thing.

"How has that been? Having Kelly back?" Elena asked Matt sincerely. She hoped Kelly would straighten up and stick around this time, she knew Matt would never admit it, but she knew he liked having his Mom around, he just didn't want to get his hopes up.

"You know, same old Kelly. She's trying, sort of." Matt answered, as he took a bite from his hamburger.

Elena smiled at Matt's answer, then she looked at Stefan and said,"Kelly and my mom were best friends growing up. That's how Matt and I first met, we shared a crib together."

"You're kidding?" Stefan asked.

"No, we have known each other our whole lives." Matt answered, as he looked at Elena and smiled.

Caroline sighed and glanced around the room, when she suggested this group date, this was not what she had in mind. Marissa looked over at her sister and felt bad for her, she knew the last thing Caroline wanted was to hear about Matt and Elena's past.

"It's the same for Rissa and Jeremy. They use to share a crib too." Elena pointed out, causing Marissa to look down at the table. She knew Elena didn't mean anything about her comment, but she didn't want her history with Jeremy brought up either, especially in front of Tyler.

Speaking of which, Marissa glanced over at Tyler from the corner of her eye and saw him shift uncomfortable in his chair. She could tell he wasn't happy with the comment either.

The group heard a loud laughter from over at the bar, they all turned their heads to see Damon, Kelly and Jenna sitting at the bar, drinking and having a good time.

"You got to be kidding me." Matt mumbled, as he watched his Mom drink a shot of liquor.

"Why don't we all go shoot some pool so we don't even have to look at them." Elena suggested with a look of disgust on her face. She didn't know what Damon was up to, but she wasn't going to worry about it tonight. Tonight was a 'no drama, all fun' night and she wanted to make sure they all had fun without worrying about anything.

"Sounds like a good plan." Stefan said, as he stood up from the table. He knew what Elena was trying to do and he agreed with her. They would worry about Damon and his drama tomorrow.

One by one, everyone stood up and made their way toward a empty pool table, with Tyler and Marissa walking slowly behind them.

Marissa looked over at Tyler and grabbed his hand then whispered,"are you ok?"

"Yeah." Tyler mumbled, as he pulled his hand away, causing Marissa to frown as he walked ahead of her. He hated acting that way toward her, but he couldn't help but be pissed about being reminded about her history with Jeremy. It felt like every time he turned around, someone was going on about their past and he was tired of it.

A few minutes later, the guys started playing a game of pool while the girls made small talk. Tyler tried to tune out all the talking and concentrate on the game, hoping it would calm him down, but was having a hard time doing so whenever Jeremy's name got brought up. Stefan could tell Tyler was close to losing it and decide to change the subject.

"How's your little kitten doing?" Stefan asked Marissa, then added,"Elena mentioned you got one for your birthday."

Marissa smiled at the mention of her kitten, she glanced over at Tyler to smile at him, but noticed he was ignoring her. She looked over at Stefan then said,"he's doing great, he's into everything."

"Like my shoes." Caroline interrupted with a laugh.

"I told you, I will keep him out of your closet." Marissa said to her, laughing back.

"At least it's better than a frog." Elena pointed out laughing.

"What?" Stefan asked confused.

"It's nothing." Marissa mumbled, as she shook her head and glanced over at Tyler, who rolled his eyes, he could only guess this was another Jeremy story from the past.

"Oh man, I remember that. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when that nasty little thing started jumping around." Caroline said laughing.

Stefan looked over at Elena and waited for her to explain, although Marissa was hoping they would just drop it, she shot Elena a look, hoping she wouldn't tell the story. Unfortunately for her, Elena missed the look she gave her as she looked at Stefan and begin to say,"years ago, when Rissa and Jeremy were around six or seven I think, Jeremy caught a frog in our backyard. He held it in his hands and ran all the way to Rissa's house to give it to her."

"Why would he bring you a frog?" Stefan asked Marissa with a chuckle.

"I had cried to him the day before about how I wanted a pet, but Mom said no." Marissa answered quietly, as she glanced over at Tyler again. Even though his back was toward her, she could tell he was getting anger by the way his hand was wrapped around the pool stick.

"So Jeremy decided he would bring her a frog for a pet." Elena added.

"And wouldn't you know it, as soon as he handed Rissa the frog, she dropped it." Caroline filled in, then added,"then it hopped onto my lap and I started screaming. Dad came running into the room, scared out of his mind, he said with the way I was yelling, he thought someone was trying to kill me."

"What happened next?" Stefan asked.

"Dad, Rissa and Jeremy ran around the living room trying to catch it, while I stood on to couch, still screaming." Caroline answered laughing, then added,"finally after what felt like forever, Dad caught it and took it outside right when Mom pulled into the drive way."

While Caroline, Elena, Matt and Stefan laughed at the story, Tyler slammed the pool stick down on the pool table then said,"well this was fun, but I'm heading home."

"Tyler, wait!" Marissa called out, as she ran after him, causing the others to watch them with a confused expression on their faces.

Marissa followed him as he exited the building, he continued to ignore her as he walked over to his car. As he reached out to open the car door, Marissa grabbed his arm and turned him around the face her. She gasped in surprise at the angry expression on his face.

"Where are you going?" Marissa asked him.

"Home." Tyler snapped, as he turned around to open the door.

Marissa slammed the car door shut then placed her back against the door to keep him from opening it again. She looked up at him and said,"please don't leave Ty."

"Oh I'm sorry, was there more little Rissa and Jeremy stories you wanted to share?" Tyler asked sarcastically.

"Don't be like that Tyler." Marissa said, as she folded her arms across her chest. She knew he was tired of hearing about her past with Jeremy, but she couldn't help that Jeremy was a big part of her childhood.

"I'm not being anything." Tyler said back.

"Yes you are, you're being a jerk and I'm tired of it." Marissa snapped, then added,"I can't help I have a past with Jeremy and I know you feel threatened by it."

"I'm not feeling threatened by anything, I won, I got you, he didn't." Tyler said without even thinking. As soon as those words left his mouth, he knew he made a mistake and said the wrong thing when he saw the angry look on her face.

Marissa looked at him with a shocked and angry look on her face. She honestly couldn't believe he just said that, she had a million of things running through her mind to say back. She opened her mouth to say whatever spilled out first, but before she could say a word, she heard Caroline's voice calling for her. She shot Tyler another look then turned her head to look at Caroline, who had just walked out of the restaurant and begin to walk toward the couple.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Caroline asked, as she looked at her sister then looked over at Tyler. If she had to guess from their looks, she would guess that Tyler said something to piss Marissa off.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Tyler mumbled, as he looked at Marissa, hoping to catch her eye but sighed when he noticed she was avoiding looking at him.

"Well we were going to head to Stefan's house to hang out, do you two want to go?" Caroline asked them.

"No thanks, I would rather just go home." Marissa answered.

"I can take you home." Tyler suggested to her, hoping she would give him a chance to apologize while on the way.

Marissa looked over at him then snapped,"no that's ok. You were in such a hurry to leave, so just go. I'll get a ride from Caroline and Matt."

"You sure?" Caroline asked her, she could tell Tyler really wanted to talk to her sister and she would hate for Marissa to shut him out and make things worse.

"I'm sure, let's go." Marissa said, as she grabbed Caroline's hand and begin to walk away from Tyler. She had only taken a few steps when Tyler reached out to grab her arm as he said,"Rissa, wait!"

Marissa pulled her arm away then turned her head to look at him as she snapped,"bye Tyler."

Caroline glanced behind and saw Tyler sigh then get into his car, she looked over at her sister then asked,"is everything really ok?"

"I don't want to talk about it, I just want to go home." Marissa mumbled, as she opened the car door to Caroline's car and sat down in the backseat.

A few minutes later, Matt came outside and sat in the passenger seat. Caroline planned to drop off Marissa, then meet Elena and Stefan at his house. On the way to the house, Matt and Caroline both, tried to start a conversation with Marissa, but she ignored them as she looked out the window, deep in thought.

Finally, Caroline parked the car on the street in front of the house. Marissa called out a quiet 'bye' as she exited the car and walked into the silent house. After locking the front door, she picked up her kitten then walked into her bedroom. She sat the kitten down on the bed and changed into a pair of comfy pajama bottoms and a tank top. She tossed her cellphone onto the bed then laid down on the bed on her back, with the kitten resting on her stomach. She had many different emotions at the moment, she was a cross between angry and hurt at Tyler and if that wasn't bad enough, she was also angry and hurt at Jeremy too for not listening to her as usual. She couldn't stand fighting with one of the guys, much less both at the same time.

She giggle and smiled when the small kitten climbed up her chest to her face and licked the tip of her nose. She hugged the kitten to her then said,"at least I have you Chunky Monkey. You'll always listen to me right?"

She laughed out loud when the kitten looked up at her and meowed, as if he understood her. She rolled over from her back to her side, holding the kitten close to her chest.

Marissa closed her eyes, ready to put the whole night behind her, but before she could fall asleep, she heard her cellphone begin to ring. She sighed as she sat up and reached out to grab the ringing phone. She rolled her eyes when she saw from the caller ID, it was Tyler calling.

"What?" Marissa asked, as she answered the phone.

_"Hey."_ Tyler said taken aback. He was surprised she even answered him and was surprised to see that she was still angry with him, although she did have a good reason, he did screw up tonight.

"What do you want Ty? I'm not in the mood for round two." Marissa snapped.

_"I just wanted to see if you made it home ok." _Tyler answered.

"Yep, I'm home safe and in my bed. Anything else?" Marissa asked.

Tyler sighed, he could tell she wasn't going to make this easy on him. _"No that's not all, I was hoping we could talk about earlier." _He suggested.

"I told you, I don't want to fight anymore." Marissa said.

_"I'm not trying to fight with you Rissa, just talk." _Tyler pointed out. He knew he had screwed up and just wanted to make things right now that he had time to cool off.

Marissa opened her mouth to answer but before she could, she heard the doorbell ring. She couldn't help but smile when she stood up from the bed, leave it to Tyler to come over and make up face to face. He was seriously scoring major brownie points by doing that, she knew it would be hard to stay mad at him if she saw his face. She knew he would give her that cute smile that always made her knees go weak.

She was almost to the front door when she said,"listen Ty, you didn't have to come all the way over here to apologize, you could just do it over the phone."

_"What are you talking about?"_ Tyler asked confused.

"I'm talking about you ringing my doorbell right now." Marissa answered with a laugh, as she pulled open the front door with a smile on her face. She froze when she saw it was Jeremy standing in front of her, not Tyler like she thought.

_"I'm not ringing your doorbell_, _who's at your house right now?"_ _"_ Tyler asked, although he had a feeling who it could be and he wasn't happy about it.

Marissa ignored his question as she looked at Jeremy and said,"hey, what are you doing here?"

"I was hoping we could talk, unless I caught you at a bad time." Jeremy answered, as he nodded his head toward the cellphone at her ear.

"Hey Ty, I'll call you back ok?" Marissa said over the phone.

_"Don't bother, hope you and Gilbert have fun." _Tyler snapped before he ended the call.

Marissa called out his name, hoping to calm him down and explain things, but she was to late. She sighed as she brought the phone down from her ear and held it in her hand as she looked over at Jeremy, who was still standing in front of her.

"Well come on in." Marissa said, as she opened the door up wider. She figured Tyler was already mad at her about him showing up, so might as well invite him in and talk.

"Sorry for the timing." Jeremy said, as he walked into the house.

"No you're not." Marissa said with a bitter chuckle.

"Yes I am." Jeremy said, as he looked at her then added,"I might not like who you are with, but I wouldn't purposely try to cause problems between you two."

"He'll get over it." Marissa said with a shrug, or at least she hoped so.

"I also wanted to apologize for earlier." Jeremy said, as he continued to look at her.

"It's ok Jer, it wasn't our first fight and I know it won't be the last." Marissa joked.

"I know you think I don't listen to you, but I do Rissa and I do trust your judgement. But just like you, I like to see the good in people, I mean you're the type of person who no matter what others think, you will still give someone a chance." Jeremy said, then added,"like with Tyler, no matter what people say or think about him, you still gave him a chance cause you believe there is something good in him and that is how I feel about Anna. I believe there is good in her and I just want to give her a chance."

Marissa nodded her head in understanding, he was right, she was the type who believed there was good in people so how could she be mad that he was doing the same thing?

"I know it might be asking for a lot, but I was hoping you could just give her a chance too." Jeremy suggested.

Marissa sighed then said,"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

"That's all I ask, just try." Jeremy said, as he stepped forward to hug her. He knew he should tell her about what he discovered tonight, that Anna is a vampire and as much as he hated keeping things from her, he figured it was best to keep that to himself for the moment, at least until he could learn more and had more to tell her. He just hoped even after learning what Anna was, that she would still give her a chance, maybe he was being naive but he felt like Anna was one of the good ones. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the thought of someone being a good vampire.

"What's so funny?" Marissa asked him, as she ended the hug and looked at him.

"Nothing, I'm just glad we talked. I hate when we fight." Jeremy lied. Even though what he said was true, it wasn't really what he was laughing about.

"Me too." Marissa said with a smile. She was glad that she made up with Jeremy, now she just had to work things out with Tyler, but she was to tired to worry about that tonight. Tomorrow she would talk to Tyler before she and Caroline left town for their Dad's house. She just hoped nothing else happened between then and now, cause she didn't think she could handle anymore drama.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey all, sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Had some things going on earlier this week, but things are fine now and it's back to writing. I am getting so excited cause it's getting closer and closer to the end of season one. I hope you all are still liking this story and also hope you liked this chapter. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to shippolove844, Kira Tsumi, TeamBlaus4EVER, helloitsme1, Writteninthestars08, Sage Londyn and Nina the Keyblader Mistress for reviewing. Happy reading and let me know what you think :)_


	17. Let The Right One In:Under Control

**Let The Right One In/Under Control**

* * *

><p><em>Let The Right One In Episode<em>

Early the next morning, Marissa was laying in her bed, sleeping soundly with her little kitten curled up beside her as a heavy rain fell outside. She snapped her eyes open and gasped in surprise when she heard a loud crack of thunder. She quickly sat up in bed, grabbing the little kitten to hold him against her chest as she glanced out the window as a flash of lighting appeared. She was always a fan of rain storm, but she drew the line at thunderstorms, they had always terrified her, ever since she was little girl.

She brought her knees up close to her body, still holding the kitten, as she continued to stared out the window, watching the heavy rain and wind blow against the glass. When the wind caused a branch to slap against the window loudly, she couldn't stop a scream from escaping or pulling the comforter over her head in fright.

"Rissa! Are you ok?" Caroline called out, as she rushed inside her sister's bedroom after hearing her scream.

"Yeah I'm fine." Marissa's muffled voice said, as she pulled the comforter off of her head. She looked at Caroline then said,"it's just this stupid storm freaking me out."

Caroline couldn't help but chuckle at her baby sister, she had always freaked out during storms and climbed into her bed when she was younger. She knew deep down, Marissa would love to jump in bed with her now, but was to proud to ask, she would rather try to be brave and get through the storm on her own. But Caroline wasn't about to leave her alone now.

"Scoot over." Caroline said, as she walked over to the bed.

"What are you doing?" Marissa asked, as she moved over to make room for her big sister.

"This storm is kind of freaking me out too, so I figured I would join you, if that's ok." Caroline lied, as she sat down beside Marissa and pulled the comforter over them.

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Marissa said smiling, as she laid back against the headboard and rested her head on Caroline's shoulder.

With her head still resting on Caroline's shoulder, Marissa glanced out the window again and jumped a little when there was another flash of lighting. She raised her head to look at her sister then asked,"are we still planning on going to Dad's today?"

"Yeah." Caroline answered.

"In this?" Marissa asked, as she pointed toward the window and the bad storm outside.

"Yeah, I've driven through worse. Besides I think it would do you some good to get away from all the drama for a day." Caroline answered, then added,"speaking of which, have you talked to Tyler since the date drama?"

Marissa shook her head then said,"no, not since he called and Jeremy showed up. He was pretty pissed about that."

"I'm sure he will get over it." Caroline said, then added,"he has to understand that you and Jeremy have a long history and you two will always be friends no matter what."

"Oh he gets that, he just doesn't like it." Marissa pointed out.

"Maybe you can try to talk to him today before we leave for Dad's house." Caroline suggested, then added,"I had planned to stop by the Grill to see Matt, I could ask Matt to tell Tyler to be there, if you want."

"Yeah, that could work. Thanks." Marissa said, as she shot her sister a small smile.

"Don't worry sis, I'm sure everything will work out." Caroline said, as she threw a arm around her shoulder's then added,"Tyler really likes you, I've never seen him this crazy over a girl before and I doubt he will throw it all away over some stupid jealousy."

"I hope you're right." Marissa said, as she laid her head on Caroline's shoulder again.

"Of course I'm right, I am the older and wiser sister." Caroline said with a laugh.

"If you say so Care." Marissa said with a chuckle, as she closed her eyes.

Caroline laughed back, then said,"why don't we get a few more hours of sleep then we'll hit the road."

"Sounds like a good plan." Marissa said, as she and Caroline laid out in the bed, side by side, on their backs. Marissa stared up at the ceiling as she thought about what Caroline said, she hoped she was right and that everything would work out with her and Tyler, she didn't think her heart could handle losing him now or ever.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After sleeping for awhile longer, the two sisters woke up and got dressed for the few hour drive to their Dad's house for his boyfriend's daughter's birthday. They had a non-traditional traditional ritual where they would get together every year to celebrate, rain or shine, but before they hit the road, Caroline parked the car in the parking lot of the Mystic Grill for a quick visit with Matt and hopefully Tyler.

Before exiting the car, Caroline reached into the backseat and pulled out a black umbrella for them to use. The two sisters huddle together under the umbrella and ran as fast as they could, without slipping, into the almost empty restaurant, the bad rain storm had kept most people at home, only a small few were brave enough to go out in the bad weather. Marissa was beginning to wonder if they should turn around and go back home, but she knew their Dad was counting on them to show up.

As Caroline smiled at Matt, who was at the back of the building, hard at work, Marissa glanced around and sighed sadly when she didn't see the one person she was looking forward to talking to before she left.

"I don't see Tyler." Marissa whined to Caroline, as she continued to glance around.

"Matt said he's coming, maybe he just hasn't got here yet." Caroline said with a hopeful smile. She knew her sister would feel better if she talked to him before they left town.

"Yeah maybe." Marissa mumbled, but she was starting to think he was avoiding her.

"I'm going to go talk to Matt, why don't you go grab us some coffee for the road." Caroline suggested, then added,"maybe by then Tyler will be here."

"Ok." Marissa mumbled, as she turned around and headed toward the bar to order two cups of coffee to go.

After placing the order, she rested her elbows on the counter and laid her head in her hands with a soft sigh. She had really hoped Tyler would show up in time, but now she was starting to lose hope. She hated the thought of leaving town with things unresolved between them. She felt like they had been having the same fight over and over again since they started dating, it always came back to her friendship with Jeremy, which she was not going to apologize for, but she hoped she could ease his fears some how, help him to understand that he was the one she wanted, not Jeremy or anyone else.

Marissa raised her head when she heard someone walking toward her, she smiled and thanked the waitress as she sat down two styrofoam cups in front of her. After paying for the coffee, the waitress walked off, leaving Marissa alone at the bar. She picked up the two cups and went to walk toward Caroline and Matt, who were standing close together as they talked quietly to each other. She had only taken a few steps, when she heard someone call out her name. She turned her head and smiled when she saw Jeremy, sitting in a booth off to the side, waving for her to come over. She tried not to frown when she saw Anna sitting across from him. She kept a smile plastered on her face as she walked over toward them, she did tell Jeremy she would give the girl a chance.

"Hey Jer." Marissa said, as she stood at the head of the table and smiled at her friend. After Jeremy said 'hey' back, she looked over at Anna and told her 'hey' as nicely as she could, causing Jeremy to shot her a small grateful smile.

Marissa shifted from one foot to the other as she looked back and forth between the couple sitting before her, noone really knew what to say next. Finally she cleared her throat then looked at Anna and said,"I really like your bag."

"Thanks." Anna said, as she subconsciously laid a hand on her shoulder bag, which was sitting beside her. She pointed to Marissa's wrist then said,"I like your bracelet."

"Thank you. Elena gave it to me recently." Marissa explained, as she raised her arm to look at the bracelet closer, causing Anna to caught a whiff of the vervain that was inside the heart charm.

"It looks great on you. You should wear it all the time." Anna suggested. Even though she and Marissa barely knew each other, she knew the girl was important to Jeremy and with the tomb vampires out and looking for revenge on the founding families, she would try to keep the young girl safe at all times for him.

"I plan on it." Marissa said to her with a forced smile.

Jeremy looked at both girls and could tell they were both uncomfortable, but he was glad that Marissa was at least trying. "So, crazy weather we are having right?" Jeremy said to the girls, hoping to ease the tension.

"I like it." Anna commented, as she glanced out the window.

"I know you hate it." Jeremy said with a laugh, as he looked up at Marissa.

"It's not that bad." Marissa said with a shrug, pretending it wasn't a big deal until a big flash of lighting appeared in the window, causing her to jump a little.

"Not that bad huh?" Jeremy joked, as he laughed at her.

Marissa tried to ignore his comment, but couldn't help laughing along with him. The two were still laughing a few seconds later, when Tyler opened the door and walked inside the restaurant, right away he heard her laughter. He glanced over in the area he heard her and felt anger overtaking him when he saw her laughing and talking with Jeremy as usual. He knew he shouldn't let it bother him, but every time he saw her flash that smile that he loved toward Jeremy, he was overcome with jealousy, even though he knew he had nothing to worry about. It wasn't like he thought she would actually cheat on him, he knew how she felt, he just hated how they looked at each other and hated how Jeremy knew everything about her. Marissa was his girlfriend, he should know everything and sure, he knew the basics, but he didn't know her the way Jeremy did and that bothered him. Then he thought about how crazy all of that was and end up getting mad at himself for getting mad over something stupid, which started the cycle all over again.

Regardless of how crazy his thoughts were, he knew one thing for sure, he wasn't in the mood to watch them laughing together today.

As Marissa continued to laugh along with Jeremy, she saw someone walk inside then turn around to walk back out from the corner of her eye. She quickly turned her head and saw that the person was Tyler. She called out his name, but wasn't to surprise when he ignored her and continued to walk out of the building. She sat the coffee cups down on the table, asking Jeremy to give them to Caroline, then quickly ran outside into the rain after him.

"Where are you going?" Marissa called out to him, as she ran up behind him.

"Home" Tyler spat out, as he pulled his car keys out of his pants pocket.

"Tyler stop walking away from me." Rissa called out, then added as she continued to walk behind him,"you must have wanted to talk to me or you wouldn't have showed up."

Tyler stopped walking and quickly turned around to face her, almost causing her to slam into him as he said angrily,"yeah I did want to talk, until I saw you with Gilbert again, as usual."

Marissa rolled her eyes then said back,"yes, you're right, I was talking to _my friend _Jeremy. I was also talking to Anna too, you know the girl he likes, or did you not see her sitting there?"

Tyler lowered his eyebrows in confusion, he had honestly not seen anyone else sitting with Jeremy, all he could see in his anger filled mind was Marissa and Jeremy. He opened his mouth to answer her, but before he could say a word, she continued to yell at him.

"You know Tyler I just don't get it, why do you get so angry when you see me talking to Jeremy? You knew me and him were friends before we ever started dating and I'm sorry, I'm not the kind of girl who just drops her friends cause she gets a boyfriend." Marissa said angrily, she opened her mouth to continue to ramble on, until she heard a big boom of thunder, causing her to gasp in surprise and wrapped her arms around Tyler and bury her head in his shirt.

Tyler couldn't help but chuckle at her as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He rested his chin on top of her head then said,"scared of storms huh?"

Marissa nodded her head as she held onto him tighter when they heard another rumble in the sky. Tyler couldn't help but smile as he continued to hold her, it made him happy to know that she needed him, she counted on him to keep her safe, even if it was from some little thunderstorm, all that matter was that she needed him.

With his arms still around her and her head still buried in his shirt, he had a million thoughts running through his head. He knew he should say something to her, something to let her know he was sorry for the way he had been acting recently. He wasn't usually the apologizing type, but he knew she deserved one.

"Rissa..." Tyler said softly, he waited until she raised her head before he opened his mouth to continue to talk, but before he could say another word, the moment was interrupted when Caroline walked over toward them, causing the couple to break apart.

"Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we really need to hit the road." Caroline said to her sister.

Marissa looked over at Caroline and nodded her head, then she looked back over at Tyler and said,"we'll talk more when I get back ok?"

"Ok." Tyler said, as he nodded his head.

"Ok." Marissa repeated, as she looked up at him. Even though things seemed ok between them, she wasn't sure how they should leave things. Should she hug him, kiss him or just walk away? Since she wasn't sure, she decided to wait to see what he was going to do, but after a few seconds of him standing still not saying or doing anything, she gave him a small smile as turned to walk away.

She had only taken a few steps when Tyler reached out to lightly grab her arm, turning her toward him, before she could ask him what he wanted, he lean down and gave her a soft, tender kiss.

"Be careful." Tyler whispered, his lips inches from hers.

"I will." Marissa promised him, as she gave him a quick peck on the lips before walking away and headed toward Caroline.

Caroline smiled as her sister walked toward her, she was glad to see that things were better between them. Once Marissa was in front of her, she handed her a styrofoam cup then threw a arm around her shoulder, as the two sisters walked toward the car together.

"Everything ok now?" Caroline asked her.

"I think so." Marissa answered with a smile.

"Good. Now let's hit the road." Caroline said cheerfully, as she opened the driver side door and slid behind the wheel before pulling out of the parking lot and driving down the road in the rain.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Caroline drove carefully through the pouring rain for close to thirty minutes or so, until she had to take a detour down a dirt road since the rain had washed out the road they usually took. As she leaned forward to watch where they were going, Marissa was sitting beside her in the passenger seat, reading a map, trying to see the best way for them to make it to their Dad's town.

"I think we're lost." Marissa called out, as she continued to look at the map.

"We're not lost. We're just on some random backwoods path to hell, but we're not lost." Caroline said back.

"If you say so." Marissa mumbled quietly.

"I know where I'm going Ris." Caroline pointed out.

Marissa opened her mouth to argue, then screamed out when the car begin to slide. She grabbed onto the seat belt and closed her eyes, she was terrified they were going to crash. Luckily, Caroline was able to straighten the car out and continued to drive down the muddy road.

"You can open your eyes now. We're ok." Caroline said, as she glanced over at her sister before looking back out at the road. "I know how to drive." She added.

"Yeah in regular weather you can drive, but not in the middle of a hurricane." Marissa argued.

Caroline laughed then said,"we are not in the middle of a hurricane, it's just a little rain storm."

Marissa jumped in her seat when a gust of wind shook the car before saying sarcastically,"yeah right, just a little rain."

"Don't worry Rissa, nothing bad is going to happen." Caroline said, hoping to ease her fears.

As soon as those words left her mouth, the car begin to slide again, only this time Caroline wasn't able to straighten it out in time before the car slide to a stop on the edge of the dirt road. Caroline pressed down hard on the gas then sighed when she realized the car wasn't moving, they were official stuck.

"Damn it." Caroline swore, as she slammed her hands on the steering wheel.

"Please tell me we are not stuck." Marissa whined.

Caroline opened her car door and stuck her head out as she pressed on the gas again, causing the tires to spin in the mud. She sat back in the seat and slammed the door closed as she swore out loud again.

"Ok no problem, I'll call Mom. She'll send out someone to come get us." Caroline said, trying not to freak out. She knew Marissa was looking at her to fix this problem, but as long as she could stay calm, she could keep her sister calm.

Caroline pulled out her cellphone, moving it all around, hoping to get a signal. When she couldn't find one, she groaned out loud as she continued to move the phone around. She even went as far as rolling down her window and sticking the phone out, but still couldn't get a signal.

"What's wrong?" Marissa asked.

"I can't get a stupid signal." Caroline snapped, as she pulled her arm back inside the car and rolled the window back up.

"Maybe I can get one." Marissa said, as she pulled out her phone, although she wasn't hopeful.

"Any luck?" Caroline asked her.

"No." Marissa mumbled. She reached out to open the car door, ready to step out, until Caroline stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Caroline asked, as she lightly grabbed her arm.

"I'm going to step outside, see if I can get a signal by walking around." Marissa answered.

"No, you sit here. I'll go out." Caroline suggested, as she opened her car door.

"I'm not letting you go out there alone Care." Marissa pointed out.

"Ok fine. You go that way." Caroline said, as she pointed to the right. Then she pointed to the left side and said,"I'll go this way."

Marissa nodded her head in agreement as the two girls exited the car and begin to walk away from each other. As Marissa walked closer and closer to the river, she had her phone up high in the air, not watching where she was going as she tried to find a signal. When she finally saw one bar appear on her phone, she cried out happily, but before she could make a phone call, her feet slipped out from underneath her and she begin to slide down the hill toward the river. She screamed out her sister's name the whole way down, until she finally came to a stop at the bottom.

"Rissa!" Caroline yelled out, as she ran toward the screams. She stood at the top of the hill and called out,"are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok, but I don't know if I can climb up. It's to muddy." Marissa called out, as she tried to stand up, but kept losing her balance and falling back down.

Caroline squatted down and held out her hand as she said,"just grab onto anything you can and climb up to me. I'll grab you."

"Ok." Marissa said. She glanced around, looking for anything she could grab to pull herself up. She finally spotted a tree branch and grabbed it, slowly pulling herself up. She was only able to pull herself up a little bit, when the branch begin to come out of the ground. She screamed out loud when she realized it wasn't a branch, it was a arm. A human arm that belonged to Vicki Donovan.

At hearing her sister scream again, Caroline didn't think twice as she slide down the hill to get to Marissa as fast as she could. Once she made it to the bottom, Marissa was hysterically crying.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked her, as she wrapped her arms around her sobbing sister.

"It's V-Vicki. Vicki's d-dead. She's dead Caroline." Marissa cried, as she held on tight to her sister.

Caroline glanced over and gasped in surprise as she saw Vicki's dead body half buried on the side of the hill. She held Marissa's head down, keeping her from seeing the body again. Caroline knew she needed to get them out of the woods and soon, although at the moment, she had no idea how.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Luckily for the sisters, at the bottom of the hill, they were able to get a signal for a cellphone. Caroline led Marissa far away from Vicki's body as she could, then made a quick phone call to their Mom, who arrived as soon as she could to save her daughters and sent out more people to tend to Vicki's body. After uncovering the rest of her body and searching for any clues nearby, everyone finally left the woods. While the rest of the police officers went back to the station to piece together what could have happened to Vicki and send her body to the morgue. Liz, along with her two daughters, drove to the Donovan's house to deliver the bad news. Liz knew she probably should have sent her girls home, but after what they went though, she wanted to keep them as close to her as possible.

Caroline and Marissa huddled close to each other as Liz rang the doorbell. As they waited for someone to answer, Caroline wrapped a arm around her sister's shoulders when she begin to softly cry.

A few seconds later, Matt opened the door and looked at the two sisters, who were both covered in mud with tear stained faces. He instantly knew something was wrong.

"What happened to you two?" Matt asked them, causing them both to look down at the ground, they both knew he was about to be devastated once their Mom told him what they had found.

"Hey Matt, is your Mom home?" Liz asked him with a sad expression on her face.

"Yeah, come on in." Matt said, as he stepped aside to let the Forbes's family come inside the house.

"Hey, who was at the door?" Kelly asked, as she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She froze when she saw Liz and her daughters then asked with a forced smile on her face,"what's going on?"

"You two should take a seat." Liz suggested to Kelly and Matt.

As Liz begin to tell them the terrible news, Marissa slipped out the front door and took a deep breath of the night air. Even though she wasn't close to Vicki, she felt bad for Matt and even Kelly, who she also wasn't a fan of. She couldn't imagine how upsetting it would be to lose a family member, sure she didn't see her Dad much or even her Mom for that matter, but at least they were still alive and she could see them occasionally, at least they weren't gone for good.

She took another deep breath and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes as she realized it wasn't just Kelly and Matt that would be upset about the news. She knew Jeremy and even Tyler would be sad about Vicki's death as well. She knew both boys had cared about Vicki at one point and they had hoped she left town and would return one day, now they would find out that Vicki was never coming back.

Marissa took her cell phone out of her front pants pocket and looked down at the phone as she debated on if she should call one of them, she would hate for them to just find out from someone random in town. She scrolled down her contact list and stopped when she came to Jeremy's name and number, but before she could call him, she heard someone walk up behind her and softly call out her name.

She turned around and felt tears fill her eyes when she saw Tyler walking toward her. She placed her phone back into her pocket and walked toward him, throwing herself into his arms.

"Is it true?" Tyler asked, then added,"is Vicki really dead?"

Marissa nodded her head as tears fell from her eyes as she remembered what she has saw. "It was so horrifying Tyler. I-I thought it was a branch, so I pulled on it to climb up the hill but it wasn't a branch, it was Vicki an-and she was dead. She's dead." She cried out.

"Wait, you found her? What happened?" Tyler asked with a concern expression on his face. All his Dad had told him was Vicki's dead body had been found, he never told him all the details or who had found her.

"The-the car got stuck in the mud and we-we couldn't get a signal." Marissa said, as more tears fell from her eyes then she added,"so we were walking around trying to find a signal and I-I slid down a hill and tried to pull myself back up. That's when I fo-found her."

As she continued to cry, Tyler wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to him. He couldn't believe all of this was happening, like everyone else, he thought Vicki had left town. He always thought she would come back one day when she was done partying or needed something. Now she wasn't coming back and he couldn't help but feel guilty about the way he had treated her. He also felt bad for Marissa and what she had to see, he wished he could have been there for her, instead he felt like he let her down, he let everyone down. He couldn't help but think to himself that he didn't deserve Marissa, he didn't deserve to be happy after the way he treated Vicki.

With that thought still in his mind, he lowered his arms from around her and took a step back, he didn't even deserve to be holding her right now.

"I should go check on Matt." Tyler mumbled, as he walked around her and headed toward the front door.

"Ok." Marissa said quietly, as she turned around and watched him walk away. She could tell he had a lot on his mind, but knew now was not the time to discuss it. Right now Matt and even Kelly needed them all, she would work on getting Tyler to open up to her later. She just hoped nothing else bad happened between now and then.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_Under Control Episode  
><em>

It had been close to a week since Vicki had been found and a few days since her funeral. Most of the town had showed up to mourn for the young teenager who's life was cut short from a drug overdose, or at least that is what Liz had told everyone, only she and the rest of the founders council knew the truth and she planned to keep it that way. Liz didn't want the town and she especially didn't want her daughters to know the truth, which was why she suggested they go stay at their Dad's for a couple of days, until things calmed down.

Which was where the two sisters were now, at their Dad's house. After spending the day with their father, it was now night time and everyone was sleeping, expect the two sisters, who were sitting in the living room, watching a movie together and sharing a bowl of popcorn.

"I still can't believe Mom made us leave town." Caroline complained, as she popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth, then added,"we're missing the Founder's Day kickoff party right now."

"That's fine with me." Marissa said with a shrug, then said,"after everything that happened, I'm not in the mood to party anyway."

"True, but we have never missed a Founder's Day party before. It's a Forbes family tradition." Caroline pointed out, then added softly,"besides, I really wanted to be there for Matt."

"I know, but I'm sure he understands." Marissa said, then begin to say,"plus it's not like he's all alone, he has his Mom, his friends.."

"And Elena." Caroline said, interrupting her, then added when Marissa shot her a look,"I know I'm being selfish for saying this, but I wish he would let me be there for him, but instead he is pushing me away and turning to her."

"I know how you feel." Marissa mumbled, as she sat the bowl down on the coffee table.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked her confused.

"Tyler is pushing me away too and I don't understand why." Marissa answered, then added,"I mean I understand that he liked Vicki and possibly cared for her, so I understand that losing her hurts, but I hate that he is pushing me away instead of opening up to me."

"Maybe it's a guy thing." Caroline suggested, with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Yeah, maybe." Marissa said with a sigh, although she wasn't sure if that was the reason or not.

"Although, I'm actually not that surprised by how Tyler is acting. He's always been closed off." Caroline pointed out.

"Really?" Marissa asked, she knew he did have a problem opening up. In the beginning he did push her away a lot, but she had thought they were past that now.

"Mm-hm." Caroline said, as she nodded her head, then she added,"I remember one time, when we had all just started high school, me, Elena, Matt and Bonnie were at his house, working on a project. Tyler and Matt started play fighting and knocked over a lamp, breaking it into a million of pieces. Unfortunately his Dad walked in the door right when that happened and he looked pissed. He asked Tyler to follow him so they could have a chat and we could hear him screaming at Tyler all the way in the living room. Finally Mrs. Lockwood came in the room and told us, politely I might add, that Tyler wasn't feeling well and asked us to leave. But we all knew something major was going on in the room Tyler and his Dad was in, cause we could still hear Mr. Lockwood yelling at him as we left and I swear I heard him hit Tyler a few times."

"Oh my God." Marissa said with a concern look on her face. She suddenly remember the night of the career fair, when Mr. Lockwood was trying to make Tyler and Jeremy fight each other, she could tell from the look on Tyler's face that he was scared of his Dad. It made her wonder what all he did go through while living in that big house with his jerk of a father.

"What happened afterwards?" Marissa asked her sister.

"I don't know." Caroline answered, then added,"the next day at school, I saw Tyler and asked him if he was ok, but he shrugged it off like it was no big deal and like everything was ok. But I did noticed he seemed to be holding his side a lot that day, like it was hurting him."

Marissa felt her heart ache for him, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. After that night at the career fair, she had wondered if Mr. Lockwood had every hurt Tyler, but he never would talk about it, now she was beginning to think that he did and she hated the thought of him being hurt by his own father.

"I can't believe his own father would do that to him." Marissa spoke out.

"It is sad, of course there is no proof of it, it's just always been hearsay, cause like I said Tyler never talks about his home life or opens up much." Caroline said, then looked at her sister as she added,"I think you are about the only one he kind of opens up to, but this whole Vicki thing took everyone by surprise and I think he doesn't know how to feel about it, so he's pushing you away. I'm sure he will talk to you as soon as he gets everything figured out in his head."

"I hope you're right." Marissa mumbled.

Caroline opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, they heard Marissa's cell phone begin to ring. Marissa picked up the phone from the coffee table and softly smiled when she saw it was Tyler calling.

"Speak of the devil." Marissa said to Caroline, as she showed her who was calling.

"See! Told you he would call." Caroline said smiling, as she stood up from the couch. "I'm going to bed to give you some privacy, night." She added.

"Night Care." Marissa said back. She waited until her sister left the room, then she answered the phone with a cheerful 'hey'.

"_Hey, you busy?" _Tyler asked her over the phone.

"No, I was watching a movie with Caroline, but she just went to bed." Marissa said.

"_Good_." Tyler said, then he took a deep breath and asked,"_can we talk?_"

"Yeah. Is everything ok?" Marissa asked him.

Tyler ignored her question as he asked,"_can you come outside?_"

"What?" Marissa asked confused, as she stood up from the couch and walked over to the living room window. She looked outside and saw Tyler out in the driveway, leaned against his car with a cell phone up to his ear.

"You came all the way here to come see me?" Marissa asked with a smile on her face.

_"Yeah, I, um, I need to talk to you now. Can you come out here? I don't want to talk about this over the phone." _Tyler said, dreading what he had to talk to her about. He couldn't believe how badly he messed up tonight, he had done some crappy things in his life, but he couldn't believe he actually kissed Matt's mother Kelly.

Normally he wouldn't even care if he cheated on a girl he was dating and he would never in a million years tell the girl about it, but Marissa wasn't just some girl. He honestly cared about her and the last thing he would want to do was hurt her, but he had and now he had to come clean about it, which he hated, cause he knew he was about to break her heart, just like he always feared he would and there was a good chance he could lose her over this which killed him, but he would rather her hear it from him, then someone else later.

"Yeah, I'll be right out." Marissa said, as she ended the call. She sat the phone back down on the coffee table, then quietly opened the front door and made her way outside and over to Tyler with a smile on her face. She wasn't completely sure what he needed to talk about, but she could only guess that he was ready to open up about how he was feeling and she was glad to see that Caroline was right, she was glad that he was ready to let her in.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here." Marissa said happily, as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

Tyler wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight, he feared this would be the last time he would get to hold her in his arms and he wanted to enjoy every minute of it. He rested his chin on top of her head and took a deep breath, remembering everything about her, her scent, the way she felt in his arms, just everything.

Marissa pulled back a little to look at him, she noticed the weird expression on his face. He looked sad, worried and scared all rolled together. She couldn't think of a reason why he would be looking the way that he did and it worried her.

"Hey, you ok?" Marissa asked him softly, as she laid a hand on his cheek.

Tyler dropped his arms from around her, as he took a step back, he didn't deserve to be holding her or have her comfort him as he said what he was about to say. He looked down at the ground and cleared his throat then said,"something happened tonight, at the Founder's party, that you should know about before you hear it from somewhere else."

"What?" Marissa asked, starting to get worried.

Tyler looked up at her, with no emotion on his face as he said,"I kissed someone."

With those three words, Marissa felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. She found it hard to breath as she asked,"who? Who was it?"

"It's not important." Tyler snapped. He knew it wasn't fair to snap at her, but he couldn't help but be pissed at himself for screwing this up and he figured the sooner he pissed her off, the sooner she would dump him and it will all be over.

"It is important Tyler." Marissa snapped back, then asked,"why did you do this?"

"Cause I'm a dick." Tyler said simply.

"No, no don't you dare do that." Marissa said angrily, then added,"don't just use that as a excuse, like that's just the way you are, cause that's not who you are Tyler."

"Yes it is Rissa." Tyler called out, then added,"I told you from day one this would happen, I told you I would hurt you."

"Yeah and you also said you wanted to be a better person with me. So be a better person now and be honest, tell me what happened. You owe me that much." Marissa pointed out.

Tyler sighed as he ran a hand over his hair then said,"the details don't matter, all that matter is at the end of the day I fucked up. I just thought you should know."

"Great, well now I know and you can just leave." Marissa said bitterly, as she turned around and begin to walk away.

Tyler took a deep breath as he watched her walk away, he knew he should just let her go, she didn't deserve him, but the longer he watched her, the more he realized he didn't want this to end, he wasn't going to lose her and he was going to do whatever he could to make things right.

"Rissa, wait!" Tyler called out, as he ran over to her.

"Just go Tyler." Marissa said back, as she tried to keep her tears away.

"No, wait, I'm sorry, just let me explain." Tyler pleaded with her, as he reached out to lightly grab her arm and turned her around to face him.

"Let me go!" Marissa called out, as she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away, causing him to hiss out in pain as he made a face as if he was hurting. She knew she didn't push him hard enough to hurt him, but she could tell he was in pain.

"What's wrong?" Marissa asked him with a concern look on his face. She knew she should be pissed at him and just walk away, but she couldn't stand to see him hurt.

"It's nothing." Tyler said, brushing it off like it was no big deal.

Marissa didn't say anything as she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up, she gasped in surprise when she saw bruises all the way up one of his sides and half on his chest and stomach.

"Oh my God Ty! What happened? Who did this?" Marissa asked, as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She remembered back to what she and Caroline had talked about earlier and for a moment she wondered if his Dad had done this to him.

Tyler pulled his shirt from her hands and pushed it back down to cover up the bruises as he took a step back from her. He knew she deserved to know the truth about everything that had happened tonight, but he wasn't sure if he could open up and talk about it all. He was worried if she knew everything, she would never look at him the same again.

"Tyler, talk to me." Marissa said, as she continued to look at him.

Tyler walked back over toward his car and leaned against it as he folded his arms across his chest and felt the wall he built come tumbling down. He never liked opening up to people, it made him feel weak and he hated that feeling. Plus he learned a long time ago that the only person he could count on was himself, but now, for the first time, he wanted to open up. He wanted to be as open and honest with Marissa as he could, he just hated that it would probably be the first and only time he got to be that way with her. He was hoping he wouldn't lose her, but knew he probably would.

But even with knowing that, he still did it, he took a deep breath and told her everything. He told her about the Founder's party, about how he drank to much, to try to get his mind off of thing and at some point found himself talking to Kelly. Then the next thing he knew, they were kissing, although he wasn't sure why, cause he wasn't even thinking about kissing her or anyone for that matter, it just happened. Then he told her about Matt catching them and attacking him, which he knew he deserved, but he turned on Matt and begin punching him, he just blacked out, he only stopped when someone pulled him away from Matt and he saw his Dad. He knew right away his Dad was pissed at him for making a scene at the party, he knew his Dad would punish him afterwards and he did, he even had the bruises to prove it.

Marissa slowly released the breath she was holding when he was done talking, she didn't know what hurt worse. That he had kissed Kelly, got into a fight with Matt or what his Dad did to him. She looked down at the ground and wiped the few tears that had fell while he was talking, she knew he was looking at her and waiting for her to say something, but she honestly didn't know what to say.

While she opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say, Tyler took a step toward her and laid a hand on her cheek, he waited until she lifted up her eyes to look at him, then said,"I know I screwed up big time and I know I don't deserve another chance, but I don't want to lose you Rissa."

"I-I..." Marissa begin to say, still finding it hard to form any words.

Tyler placed his other hand on her other cheek then said,"I'm going to count to three and then I'm going to kiss you. If you don't forgive me or don't want me to, then you're going to have to stop me."

Marissa didn't say anything as he slowly begin to count, when he got the number three, he looked at her one last time before he closed his eyes and begin to move his face closer to hers. His lips were only inches from hers when she finally came to and took a quick step back. He snapped open his eyes and looked at her as she begin to stutter out,"I-I-I can't."

"That's fine. I deserve that." Tyler said, trying to not show his disappointment.

As he turned to walk toward his car to leave, Marissa reached out to grab his hand to stop him then said,"no, I mean, I can't right now. I just need some time Ty, time to think about it all."

Tyler nodded his head in understanding then stepped forward to lightly kiss her on the forehead. He kept his lips pressed against her skin as he mumbled,"I really am sorry Ris."

"I know." Marissa whispered back, as tears filled her eyes again.

Tyler took a step back and looked at her, as much as he hated to leave, he knew he needed to. He knew he needed to give her space, but he couldn't help but worry if this was the last time he would see or talk to her. He hoped in time she would forgive him and things could be like before, but he still had that fear that he has lost her forever.

Marissa gave him a small smile as she turned around and walked back toward the house without another word, she was afraid if she tried to speak, she would break down in tears and kiss him, forgetting about everything he just told her and pretend nothing ever happened, but she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't pretend that he hadn't just broke her heart.

As she walked inside the house and softly shut the door. She leaned against the door then slid down into the floor as the tears she had been holding back begin to rain down her face. She had a million thought running through her head all at once and at the moment, she honestly didn't know what to do. She knew she should hate him and never talk to him again after what happened, but she couldn't do that, she wished she could, cause it would make things so much easier, but the truth was she still cared about him and she wasn't sure if she was ready to end things completely or not. Would this be a thing she could forgive him for or would the image of him kissing Kelly be something she could never forget? Could they ever get past this and get back to the way things were or would this slowly tear them apart?

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've been in a writing funk and have slowly been trying to write through it. I was really dreading this chapter lol Cause I didn't want to hurt Rissa or have her and Tyler fight, but it had to happen lol. In the beginning of writing this story I thought about leaving out the kiss, but I didn't want to change to much of the actual show, I mean there will be some changes but I don't want to change a lot. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed these episodes. I hope they were not to rushed since I had to combine them, but there wasn't much for Rissa to do in them, so I just had to do what I could. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to TeamBlaus4EVER, Nina the Keyblader Mistress, shippolove844, runawaycherry93, Sage Londyn and Writteninthestars08 for reviewing. Happy reading and let me know what you think! _


	18. Miss Mystic Falls:Part 1

**Miss Mystic Falls~Part 1**_  
><em>

* * *

><p>After spending another night at their Dad's house, Caroline and Marissa left early the next morning to go home. Caroline glanced over at Marissa, who had been silent all morning. Normally she would open up to her big sister and confide in her, but she couldn't even bring herself to talk about what happened with Tyler the night before, the hurt was still to raw and she was still to confused on what to do, instead she sat quietly beside Caroline as she drove down the road toward Mystic Falls. Marissa was just ready to get home and hide out in her room for the rest of the day, maybe even for the rest of her life.<p>

Hours later, as Caroline parked the car in the driveway, Marissa grabbed her overnight bag from the backseat and walked inside the house, making her toward her bedroom. She tossed her bag on the floor, then laid down in her bed, pulling the comforter over her head. She stayed in her bed for the rest of the afternoon, through the night and into the next morning. Once Caroline realized she wasn't getting up for school, she walked into the bedroom, hoping to finally get her little sister out of bed.

"Rissa, it's time to get up. We're going to be late for school." Caroline said, as she pulled the comforter off of her head.

"I'm not going, I don't feel good." Marissa mumbled, as she pulled the comforter back over her head.

Caroline pulled the comforter back off and sat down beside her sister as she asked sincerely,"Rissa, what's wrong?"

When Marissa didn't answer, Caroline spoke up again and said,"usually I wouldn't push you to talk until you're ready, but I am really getting worried about you. What happened after Tyler called you the other night? You've been acting weird ever since he called you."

Marissa sighed as she sat up in bed and leaned against the headboard, she knew she was being unfair to her sister and she hated to worry her, she knew it was finally time to tell her sister what happened, chances are she would hear about it at school anyway, it was hard keeping secrets in this town. She sighed again then told Caroline everything that happened, well everything minus what Mr. Lockwood did to Tyler, she knew Tyler wouldn't want anyone to know about that and with it being his secret to tell, she wasn't going to say anything. Even after what he did, she didn't hate him enough to do that.

After Marissa finished filling Caroline in on what happened at the Founder's party, her jaw dropped as she looked at Marissa with a surprised expression on her face.

"I can't believe Tyler did that to you." Caroline said angrily.

"Well everyone warned me about him, I just wouldn't listen." Marissa said with tears in her eyes.

"It's true that he's a player, but it was different with you, everyone could see that." Caroline said, then added,"if it had been some other girl, I wouldn't have been surprised at all, but I could tell Tyler really cares about you and he would have never wanted to hurt you like that."

"Yeah well he did." Marissa mumbled.

"I think this is more Kelly's fault than anyone, I mean sure Tyler was wrong, but Kelly is a grown woman or is supposed to be, she should have known better." Caroline pointed out.

Marissa nodded her head in agreement, but didn't say anything. Caroline was kind of right, Kelly should have known better, but it still hurt cause no matter what Kelly did, Tyler still should have walked away.

"So what are you going to do?" Caroline asked, as she wrapped an arm around Marissa's shoulder.

"That's the problem, I don't know. I told Tyler I needed time to think about it and that is all I've been doing, is thinking, but I still have no clue what to do." Marissa answered.

"These things take time Ris. There is no set time on when you have to make up your mind, but until you do decide you can't just hide out from the world. You have to keep living your life and show Tyler that you will be ok without him." Caroline pointed out.

"But I don't know if I want to be without him. Even though what he did was wrong and he hurt me, I still care about him and a part of me still wants to be with him." Marissa explained, as a few tears fell down her face.

Caroline wiped away the tears then said,"only you can decide what is best for you Ris. If you feel like you can forgive Tyler and still be with him, then do it, but if you don't think you can get over it, you need to let him go so you can move on. Do what makes you happy."

"But if I go back to the guy that hurt me, what does that make me?" Marissa asked.

"It makes you human." Caroline answered, then added,"all of us make mistakes, you just have to figure out if this is a mistake you can move on from. I've had guys hurt me before, some I moved on from and some I gave another chance too. It just depends on the guy and how much you care about him, and at least Tyler was honest with you, most guys wouldn't even know how to be honest with a girl and own up to his mistakes."

Marissa looked up at her sister with watery eyes as she said,"I miss him Care."

"I know you do." Caroline said, as she hugged her.

As Marissa hugged her back, she thought about everything Caroline just told her and everything she said made sense. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes and sure Tyler made a huge one, but at least he did come clean to her, that had to count for something right? He could have never told her and just hoped she never found out, but instead he went out of his way to be honest and try to make things right. Marissa sighed as she continued to hold on to Caroline, she still had a lot of thinking to do.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After talking to Caroline, Marissa finally got out of bed to get ready for school. She had planned to go to school in a pair of sweats, but Caroline talked her in to wearing a pretty floral sun dress. Caroline also talked her into helping her with the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, as Caroline explained, 'it would get her mind off of things' and Marissa agreed. It was time she stopped thinking about Tyler for a few days and concentrate on something else.

Although as much as she tried to put him out of her mind, she still couldn't stop thinking about him as she walked down the hallway toward her locker. Part of the problem was she had seen him as soon as she had arrived at school. He never made a move to walk toward her or say anything, he wanted to give her, her space, although he wasn't sure how long he could go without talking to her. Seeing her, but not being able to be with her, was killing him inside, but after what he did, she deserved time and space without him trying to push her or at least he was going to try.

Marissa tried to put Tyler out of her mind for the hundredth time that morning, as she opened her locker and took out the books she would need for her morning classes. As she looked inside her locker, she heard someone walk over toward her and stand beside her. She closed her eyes, half hoping it would be Tyler, but instead when she opened her eyes and turned her head, she saw that it was Jeremy.

"Hey, where were you yesterday? I've been calling trying to call you." Jeremy said, as he leaned against the bank of lockers.

"Sorry Jer. After I got home from Dad's I just crashed and stayed in my bed all day." Marissa said, as she shut her locker door. She was basically telling the truth, she did stay in bed all day, but it wasn't cause she was tired, it was cause she wanted to hide away and ignore the world.

"Are you ok?" Jeremy asked her softly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Marissa lied.

Jeremy shot her a look and she realized he knew, he knew what happened between Tyler and Kelly. _'Of course he knew, it was hard keeping anything secret in this town, especially something that happened in the middle of a big party.'_ She thought to herself.

"So you know huh?" Marissa asked with a sigh.

"Yeah." Jeremy answered, then added,"I looked for Tyler when I got here, but haven't seen him yet, but trust me when I say I will find him and I will kick his ass for this."

"No Jeremy, don't do or say anything." Marissa begged him.

"Why the hell not? That jerk hurt you Ris, just like I knew he would and he's going to pay for it." Jeremy said angrily.

"I know, but I'm asking you not to do anything, at least until I know what I'm going to do about it." Marissa explained.

"What do you mean what you're going to do? You're going to dump him and move on right?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, ok?" Marissa snapped, then quickly apologized to him. She didn't mean to snap at him, but she was just confused about everything and had no answers to give him.

Jeremy scoffed then asked,"how could you even be thinking about giving him another chance? Are you in love with the guy or something?"

Marissa didn't say anything as she looked down at the floor and thought about his question. Did she love Tyler? She knew she cared about him a lot, but could she actually be in love with him? Maybe that was why it is so hard to just let him go even after what he did, cause she loved him or maybe she was just a stupid girl, who was having a hard time letting go of her longtime crush. Either way, it was another thing she would have to think about, but the longer she didn't answer, the more it broke Jeremy's heart. He took her silence as a 'yes' and he couldn't believe after everything that jerk did to her, she could love him. It made no sense to him at all.

"You do, don't you?" Jeremy asked her quietly.

Marissa raised her head to look at him with tears in her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders and said,"I don't know for sure, but I think I do."

"How? After what he did, how could you love him?" Jeremy asked.

"It's just, I don't know if I can explain it. It's just about how he is with me and the way he makes me feel and I don't know if I can walk away from that or from him." Marissa answered.

"What?" Marissa asked him, when he shot her a look and scoffed at her words.

"Nothing, it's just, I thought you were smarter than that." Jeremy answered.

"What does that mean?" Marissa asked angrily.

"I didn't think you were the type of girl who would keep giving the jerk that hurt you chance after chance. But I guess I was wrong." Jeremy said, as he turned around and walked off, leaving Marissa standing at her locker, shocked, hurt and little angry.

Marissa stood still as she watched him walk all the way down the hallway, once he walked around a corner, out of sight, she scoffed and turned around to walk away in the opposite direction, with her head down. She had only taken a few steps, when she crashed into someone, she felt like she was about to fall to the floor until the person grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.

Marissa looked up to see her she crashed into and opened her mouth to apologize, but no words came out as she begin to feel her heart race when she saw Tyler standing in front of her.

"You ok?" Tyler asked, as he raised his hand to place it on her cheek on instinct, but before his hand could touch her skin, he remembered he didn't have the right to touch her anymore and quickly lowered his hand.

"Yeah I'm fine." Marissa said, as she flashed him a forced smile.

"You sure? That looked like a nasty fight between you and Gilbert just now." Tyler pointed out. He knew he also had no right to get into her business, but he was worried about her, even if she did look put together and beautiful in the dress she was wearing, he could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't doing well. Normally her eyes were bright and her whole face lit up when he was around her, but now her eyes were dim and puffy, from crying he would guess and sure there was a smile on her face, but he could tell it was fake. Of course after his comment, that fake smile turned into a pissed off look.

"What cheating wasn't enough, now you're stalking and eavesdropping?" Marissa asked angrily.

Tyler rolled his eyes then said,"no, I was just walking down the hall and it looked like you two were arguing, then I saw him walk off looking angry and you looked upset so I thought I would check up on you."

"Well I'm fine, you don't have to check up on me." Marissa snapped.

Tyler threw up his hands in surrender then said,"fine I won't."

"Good." Marissa said, as she smoothed out her dress and glanced around the hallway, doing anything she could to not look at him. She hated how she was treating him, she didn't want to be snapping at him, but she was just so mad and hurt at him. But the worst of it was, no matter how hurt she was, all she really wanted to do right at this moment, was fall into his arms and have him hold her like he use to, she wanted him to make it all ok but she wasn't sure how he could.

Tyler watched her as she continued to look around, he wanted to say something to her, anything that would make things better, but he couldn't think of one thing to say and before he could think about it to much longer, the bell begin to ring, signaling the start of class.

"I got to go." Marissa mumbled, as she walked past Tyler and walked into the girl's restroom. She knew she should be heading to class, but after her run in with Tyler, she needed some time alone.

As she was inside the room, trying to catch her breath and keep her tears at bay, Tyler was still standing out in the hall as everyone else ran toward their first class of the day. Even though Marissa had just told him, she didn't need him checking on her, he was worried when minutes later, she still had not come out of the restroom and even though he knew she would probably just yell at him, he had to go inside and check on her.

Marissa had her hands laid on the sink and her head lowered with her eyes closed as she took several deep breaths. She quickly lifted her head when she heard the door open and saw Tyler walk in.

"What are you doing in here?" Marissa snapped, then added,"I thought you were suppose to be giving me space, but yet here you are again."

"I know and I am giving you space, but I didn't think that meant we couldn't talk or hang out at all." Tyler pointed out. He already hated the thought of losing her as a girlfriend, the last thing he wanted to do was lose her as a friend as well.

"Yeah, you're right." Marissa said, as she gave him a small smile.

"So we can still talk and hang out sometimes?" Tyler asked her with a hopeful smile.

As Marissa nodded her head, Tyler shot her a genuine smile then asked,"do you want to hang out today? Like after school or something."

"I can't today." Marissa answered, then added,"I'm helping Caroline get ready for the pageant."

"Oh right, I forgot that was going on this week." Tyler said, then added,"maybe some other time then."

"Yeah, some other time." Marissa said, as she picked up her book bag then said,"well we better get to class."

"See ya later Ris." Tyler said, as he took a step toward her, thinking about giving her a hug then changed his mind and took a step back.

"Bye Ty." Marissa mumbled, as she walked past him and left the restroom. She knew if she would have hung around him for too much longer, she wouldn't have been able to walk away.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Later that afternoon, after school, all the girls that were part of the Founder's court and their partners were meeting up with Carol Lockwood to learn the dance all of them were going to have to do during the pageant, since Matt had to work, Marissa was filling in as Caroline's partner. The two sisters were walking down the hallway, with Bonnie, who Caroline, also asked to help to get her mind off of things.

"The Fell cousins don't have a shot and Amber Bradley is only on the court so the pageant doesn't look like its founding families only which of course it is. So that leaves Elena which totally has the sympathy vote since her parents died. How can I compete with that?" Caroline said to the two girls, who were walking on either side of her.

"Very nice, very sensitive." Bonnie said.

"I agree Care. That wasn't nice." Marissa said, as she shot her sister a look.

"Oh I'm sorry, this must sound really unimportant. In light of everything." Caroline said, as she looked at the two girls.

"It's okay, we get it, you want to win." Bonnie said.

"Well, our grandmother was Miss Mystic and both of our aunts. Our mom is the only one who didn't get the gene and I want this. I actually deserve this." Caroline pointed out.

"We know Care and believe me, I want you to win and I'll do whatever I can to help." Marissa said, as she smiled at her sister.

As the three girls got closer to the room, Elena and Stefan walked out and called out a friendly hello to them. Marissa and Caroline smiled and said 'hey' back, as Bonnie looked down at the floor, trying to ignore the couple in front of them.

"Bonnie. Hey." Elena said, trying to get her attention.

"Hey, how are you?" Stefan said, also trying to talk to Bonnie.

As Bonnie continued to ignore them, Marissa looked between Elena, Stefan and Bonnie, wondering what had happened between them.

"I begged Rissa and Bonnie to fill in for Matt, he had to work today." Caroline said, breaking the silence and hoping to ease the tension.

"Bonnie, do you have a minute?" Elena asked her friend.

"We only have thirty minutes for rehearsal." Bonnie answered.

"It's ok Bon, me and Caroline will go in and get started." Marissa said, hoping Elena and Bonnie could talk about whatever was wrong and make up. She hated when any of them fought.

Marissa grabbed Caroline's arm and pulled her into the room, giving the other two girls privacy to talk. Marissa came to a stop inside the room, when she saw Tyler sitting off to the side, looking down at the floor, he looked like he was bored out of his mind. When Marissa stopped walking, Caroline looked behind her to see what caused her to stop. When she saw Marissa and Tyler staring at each other, Caroline gently pushed her toward him as she whispered for her to go talk to him.

Marissa cautiously walked over toward him and gave him a small smile when he looked up at her. Tyler stood up from the chair he had been sitting in as he waited for her to show up, he knew it was probably stupid to show up during the dance rehearsal, but he knew she would be there and he wanted to see her.

"What are you doing here?" Marissa asked him with a surprised expression on her face.

"Mom asked me if I would come help out." Tyler lied.

"Since when do you agree to help your Mom out with things like this?" Marissa asked him, as she shot him a look. She knew him well enough to know that he was lying.

Tyler sighed as he ran a hand over his hair then said,"ok you got me, I knew you were going to be here so when Mom asked, I jumped at the chance to help."

"That sounds more like the Tyler I know." Marissa said with a small laugh.

"Yeah well that's what stalkers do." Tyler joked, as he flashed her a smile.

"You are slipping into stalker territory here Ty, this is like the second time I have seen you today." Marissa joked back.

"It's not stalking when you're dating the person Ris." Tyler said without thinking. For a moment he forgot that he had screwed things up with her and now he wasn't even sure if they were still together or not, all she said that night was she needed time, and he was planning on doing just that, give her time, but he didn't want to lose her and was going to do whatever he could to win her back.

Marissa opened her mouth, then shut it, unsure about what to say cause, like Tyler, she wasn't sure what they were at the moment. She knew she cared for him a lot and possible loved him, but she wasn't sure if she could forgive him or not.

"Ok girls, grab your partners. It's time to begin." Mrs. Lockwood called out.

Marissa mumbled a 'bye' to Tyler as she walked over to Caroline, to fill in as her partner. Mrs. Lockwood quickly explained to the girls how to do the dance, then asked if anyone had any questions. No one was really surprised when one of the Fell cousins, Tina, raised her hand and announced that she didn't understand. Marissa and Caroline chuckled as Mrs. Lockwood walked over toward the confused girl and tried to explain the dance to her again, they knew no matter how many times Mrs. Lockwood explained it, Tina would never understand.

"How did your talk with Tyler go?" Caroline whispered to her sister, while everyone was busy.

"It was ok." Marissa whispered back, as she looked down at the floor.

Caroline nodded her head at her answer as she looked over Marissa's shoulder, then she whispered,"look behind you."

Marissa shot her sister a confused looked, then turned her head to see Tyler, sitting back down in the chair he was in earlier, only this time instead of staring at the floor, he was staring at Marissa. When he saw her turn her head, he gave her a smile and nodded his head toward her, as if to say 'hey'.

"Why did you do that?" Marissa asked Caroline, as she turned her head back toward her sister.

"He was looking sad, just staring at you, I thought I would throw him a bone." Caroline whispered with a laugh.

"You're mean." Marissa whispered back, smiling.

Caroline glanced over at Tyler again then poked out her lip as she whispered,"aw he looks so pitiful."

"Stop looking at him Care." Marissa hissed quietly.

"It's like a train wreck, I can't look away." Caroline whispered, then added,"look at how sad he is."

"No." Marissa whispered.

Caroline looked at Tyler one more time, then she looked at her sister, who she could tell was just as sad as he was. She knew what he did to her sister was wrong, and usually she would be the first one to tell Marissa to forget him and move on, but she also knew Tyler made her sister really happy and she also knew her sister made Tyler happy. Marissa was good for him, she changed him for the better and in her mind, they needed to be together, they needed each other.

"You should forgive him." Caroline whispered to her sister, catching her by surprise.

"What?" Marissa asked, a surprised expression still on her face.

"I know that is probably the last thing you thought I would say, but I just want you to be happy Ris." Caroline explained quietly.

Marissa continued to look at her sister in shock and for the second time that afternoon was at a loss for words. She carefully glanced behind her to look at Tyler, as their eyes locked again she felt her heart begin to race. She was finding it harder and harder to be apart from him the more she was around him.

Before Marissa could get lost in her thoughts, Carol, failing to explain the dance to Tina, walked back toward the middle of the room and said,"alright, I think it would be best if I were to show you girls how the dance goes."

Marissa and Caroline couldn't help but chuckle again when Carol asked Tyler to dance with her to help teach everyone the dance. He walked over to his Mom and quietly argued with her, telling her he was _not_ going to dance with her. Carol rolled her eyes at her son, who in her mind was being over dramatic, then suggested he dance with Marissa, his girlfriend, which he thought was a great idea. He would get a chance to spend some time with her and wouldn't have to fill his mother in on their problems at the moment. For a short time, he could just pretend everything was ok.

"Marissa?" Carol called out, getting the young girl's attention.

"Yeah?" Marissa asked, confused. While Carol and Tyler had been talking quietly, she had been talking to Caroline and had no idea what was going on.

"Could you come dance with Tyler? I'm sure it will help the other girls out a lot to see the dance." Carol asked.

As Marissa opened and closed her mouth, stuttering and trying to think of an answer. Caroline smiled and called out,"I know it would help me out _a lot _if I saw them doing it first."

Marissa shot her sister a look then said,"but I'm your fill in partner."

"Bonnie can fill in." Caroline said, as she waved over Bonnie, who had been leaning against the doorway watching after talking to Elena.

Marissa sighed, realizing there was no way out of this, then walked over toward Carol and Tyler in the middle of the room. As she and Tyler stood facing each other, Carol walked away from the couple and begin to slowly explain the dance. Marissa looked down at the floor and took a deep breath then raised her head to look at him. She tried to keep her heart from racing again as they looked into each other eyes and raised their right hands before circling around each other. Even if they weren't touching, she could still feel him, his scent and his warmth was all around her. It made her feel safe, it made her feel protected, it made her feel special and she loved that feeling. As they raised their left hands and circled around each other again, she turned her head to watch him, sending her a shy smile before looking down at the floor, breaking eye contact with him.

When they stood in front of each other again, Tyler laid a finger on her chin, forcing her to raise her head and look at him as Carol called out to the room, "flirt with your eyes, stay focus on your partner."

Marissa looked into his eyes again and felt like they were the only two people in the room as he continued to lead them through the dance. She softly smiled as she thought about the first time they had danced together, it was at the Founder's party, and after they danced she had overheard him talking to Brad, bragging about sleeping with her, which wasn't true and as much as that hurt her, he did make it up to her. It made her wonder if she gave him the chance, maybe he could make this up to her too.

"You remember the first time we danced?" Tyler asked her, as if he could read her mind, although she wasn't going to let him know she was thinking about that.

"Yeah, it was the Founder's party, the one your Mom forced you to take me to as your date." Marissa said sarcastically.

Tyler rolled his eyes and chuckled as he said,"she didn't force me, I wanted to take you, which is why I asked."

Marissa didn't say anything as they circled around each other again. She wasn't sure if them reminiscing about their relationship was a good idea, it made her miss what they had and the last thing she wanted to do was give him false hope before she knew what she was going to do.

"I remember that night when we were dancing, you asked me why I asked you to be my date instead of Vicki and I told you I didn't know, that I did like Vicki, but she was too much drama." Tyler said, then asked,"do you remember that?"

"I remember." Marissa whispered, as they circled around each other.

"And you told me, maybe I would meet a drama-free girl soon." Tyler said, as they stood in front of each other.

"Why are you bringing all of this up?" Marissa asked him.

"Cause you're right, I did meet a drama-free girl and she means everything to me, until I screwed it all up." Tyler said honestly, as he spun her around then dipped her toward the floor as he added,"but I'm not letting her go."

Marissa looked up at him in surprise, she knew he had gotten better about being open and honest with her, but she never would have thought he would be that honest with her. She could tell by the look on his face that he meant every word he said, he was not going to let her go, he was going to fight to make things right with her no matter what. She just wasn't sure if there was still something there worth fighting for.

The two teens continued to look at each other, both not sure what to say next, Tyler felt like he put himself out there, he told her how he felt and what he wanted, now it was up to her to do something about it, although she wasn't sure what to do, she needed to think more, but first she needed to get out of his arms and away from him so she could think straight.

Before she could ask Tyler to pull her up, Carol called out,"Tyler, there is no touching in this dance, you know that."

"Sorry." Tyler mumbled, as he pulled Marissa up but kept his arms around her waist. He didn't want to stop touching her.

"You two can take a break now, I think the girls understand the dance now." Carol said to Tyler and Marissa, as she shot them a smile, thanking them for their help.

Tyler pulled Marissa closer to him as he asked her quietly,"you want to get out of here and talk?"

"I-I, um, I need some air." Marissa mumbled, as she took a quick step away from him and exited the room. She ran down the hallway and pushed open the first door she saw, taking a deep breath once she made it outside.

She wasn't all that surprised when she heard the door open and Tyler walking up behind her, asking if she was ok. She took a deep breath then turned around to face him. When he took a step toward her, she took a step back and held up a hand, telling him to stop.

"Stop what?" Tyler asked her.

"Stop pushing me." Marissa cried out, then added,"I need time Ty. I need time to think, but you're making it hard for me to do that when you keep pushing me."

"I'm sorry." Tyler said sincerely, then said,"you're right. I'm suppose to be giving you space and I'm not holding up my end of the deal. I'll back off and give you time."

"Thank you." Marissa whispered.

"I just, I don't want to lose you Rissa." Tyler said, as he reached out to grab one of her hands, holding it lightly.

Marissa looked down at their hands then laced her fingers with his as she said softly,"I don't want to lose you either Ty, but I have to figure this out on my own. I have to figure out if I can forgive you or not."

Tyler took a step forward and lightly kissed her on the forehead, then he dropped her hand and took a step back as he said,"take all the time you need Ris, I'm not going anywhere."

Marissa opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, the door opened again as Caroline rushed outside and over toward her sister to check on her.

"Rissa, hey, are you ok?" Caroline asked, with a concern look on her face. She had no idea what was going on with Marissa, the last time she glanced over at her and Tyler during the dance, things seem to be ok, she just hoped he didn't say or do something to upset her sister again.

"Yeah, I just needed some air." Marissa said, as she gave her sister a smile, hoping to ease her mind.

"But you're ok?" Caroline asked again. When Marissa nodded her head, Caroline said,"good, cause rehearsal is over and we need to go shopping for a dress. You up for that?"

"Yeah, let's go." Marissa said to her sister. As she and Caroline walked away, she turned her head to glance at Tyler, giving him a small smile before turning her head back around to listen to Caroline, who was rambling on about what type of dress she was looking for. Marissa tuned her out as her thoughts went back to Tyler, she knew she needed to make up her mind soon cause it was hell being away from him, she needed to either work on forgiving him or work on getting over him, either one was going to be hard, but she needed to decide something fast. She just wished there was a way to know if she could trust him again, she wished there was a way to know if he would always be there for her, a way to know if he would always be by her side no matter what, a time when she would need him the most. That was all she really wanted, someone to love her, someone to trust, someone who would be there for her when she needed someone, she just wished she knew if that person was Tyler or not.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey all! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I recently got hooked on the show Teen Wolf and instantly had an idea for a story based on it. Now I can't get those ideas out of my mind and have slowly been working on a new story for that show as well as writing for the other stories I have posted lol. Anyway I have decided to start posting shorter chapters. I feel like the long chapters are turning people off cause it's just too much at once. So this episode will be either two or three parts, not sure yet. I hope you all enjoy it and hopefully I can get the next part finished and posted soon. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Big thanks to Emmettluver2010, shippolove844, TeamBlaus4EVER, Guest and Writteninthestars08 for reviewing. _

_Oh and I had a review talking about making Rissa a vampire in season 2 and I just wanted to say I have thought about that. There was another reviewer(ArtemisLuna85) who mentioned it and since then I have thought a lot about it, sorry to say though I'm not saying if she will be one or not, I want to keep that a surprise lol. Thanks again for reading and please let me know what you think of this chapter. Happy Reading :)  
><em>


	19. Miss Mystic Falls:Part 2

**Miss Mystic Falls~Part 2**

* * *

><p>After shopping for a few hours and finally finding the perfect dress for Caroline to wear during the pageant and even a new black dress for Marissa to wear, which was Caroline's idea, the two sisters were now sitting in Caroline's bedroom. First they did a trial run on how Caroline was going to wear her hair and do her make-up, then afterwards, they changed into their most comfortable pajamas, grabbed some junk food for Marissa, Caroline didn't want to pig out the night before the pageant, and were now sitting across from each other on Caroline's bed, as they begin to chat. Caroline wanted a Tyler update, but Marissa reassured her that there was nothing new going on, she was still thinking about things, so instead they talked about the upcoming pageant, which was Caroline's favorite topic lately, anytime she thought about competing in the pageant tomorrow, she couldn't stop smiling.<p>

"So how did the interview part go?" Marissa asked her, as she nibbled on a chocolate chip cookie. Earlier that week, all the girls on the Founder's court had to meet with Mrs. Lockwood and the rest of committee, as they asked the girls a series of questions on what made them the best choice for 'Miss Mystic Falls'.

"I think it went good. I made sure to tell them about all the volunteer work I do at the school and around town." Caroline answered.

"It is important that Miss Mystic Falls does a lot of work in the community." Marissa added, then said,"and you are involved with everything, so it's good that they know that."

Caroline nodded her head then said,"and I bet noone else volunteers as much as I do. So between all of that and my good looks..."

"Of course, can't forget the good looks." Marissa said with a laugh, interrupting her sister.

"So between my volunteer work and good looks..." Caroline begin to say again, laughing along with Marissa as she continued,"I have a real good shot at winning this."

"I think you are going to win it Care." Marissa said smiling.

"You really think so?" Caroline asked her with a hopeful smile on her face.

"I know so. You got this and when they are placing the crown on your head, I'll be standing there saying 'told you so'." Marissa said, as she took another bite of the cookie.

"You won't do the 'told you so' dance will you?" Caroline asked her.

"Oh yes, I will be doing the dance too." Marissa answered with a laugh.

Caroline groaned then said,"oh God, you're going to embarrass me aren't you?"

"Yep, that's what little sisters are for, to embarrass their big sisters." Marissa said laughing.

Caroline laughed back then said,"that's fine, but don't forget, payback is a bitch little sis."

"Bring it on, I'm not scared." Marissa added, as she stood up from the bed.

"You better be scared." Caroline joked, as she shook her fist at her.

Marissa shook her head as the two sisters continued to laugh. As upset as she was about the Tyler drama, she had to admit it felt good to just laugh and joke with Caroline, her sister was right, working on the pageant together was taking her mind off of things for a bit. She still thought about everything of course, but at least with the pageant she had something to focus on, something to work for, instead of laying in bed pouting.

"Ok time for me to get some beauty rest. Grab your junk food and go." Caroline said, as she tossed the package of cookies toward Marissa, who called out a 'hey, watch it' as she grabbed the package and held the cookies close to her chest, as if they were the most important thing in the world.

Caroline couldn't help but chuckle at her sister, as she pulled the comforter back and sat down on the bed. She knew her sister was going through a lot right now, but was happy to see her smiling and laughing, even if it was over something stupid like cookies.

After calling out 'night' to each other, Marissa left Caroline's bedroom and went into the kitchen to put away the junk food, then she made her way into her bedroom, after the long day she had, she was more than ready for some sleep.

She had just taken a step into the bedroom when she heard her window slide open and saw Jeremy climbing into her bedroom like he had always done growing up. She turned around to shut her bedroom door then turned back around toward him as he shut the window and turned to face her. They both looked at each other, neither one knowing what to say first. She was still hurt from what he said earlier that day at school, she was already having a hard time trying to decide what to do about Tyler, the last thing she needed was Jeremy on her case about it. She folded her arms across her chest as she waited for him to say something, after a few seconds past and he still continued to stare silently at her, she finally sighed and asked,"what are you doing here?"

Jeremy cleared his throat then said,"I was uh, I was in the neighborhood and thought to myself, 'I haven't crawled into Rissa's window in awhile', so here I am."

"Uh-huh." Marissa said, as she shot him a disbelieving look. "You do know we have a front door right?" She added.

"Yeah, but I figured you wouldn't answer it." Jeremy answered softly, as he took a step toward her.

"You figured right." Marissa said back, as she stood still, not sure if she was ready to forgive him yet or not.

Jeremy took a few more steps toward her until he was standing in front of her only then did he sigh and say,"I'm sorry Rissa, I shouldn't have yelled at you or said what I did. I just hated the fact that he hurt you and all I wanted to do was hurt him, but then you were talking about maybe giving him another chance and I just snapped. I didn't mean to say..."

Before he could finish his apology, she interrupted him by throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. Jeremy snapped his mouth shut and wrapped his arms around her waist as he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had done and said some shitty things to her in the past, but he had worried that this time he had pushed her to far and was thankful that she once again forgave him.

"I just need my friend Jer, I need you to tell me what to do. I don't know what to do." Marissa cried out, as she held on to him.

Jeremy pulled back and kept one arm wrapped around her waist as he raised his other arm and wiped the few tears off of her cheeks. He wished he could tell what to do, he wished he could tell her to dump Tyler, he wished he could tell her to just open her eyes and see that he was there, he was there for her and he would love her the way she deserved, but he couldn't do that. She had to figure out what to do on her own, even if that meant staying with Tyler, as long as she was happy, he was happy.

"I can't tell you what to do Rissa. You have to do what makes you happy." Jeremy told her.

Marissa sighed as she laid her head on his shoulder then said,"that's pretty much what Caroline told me too."

"Well it's true, only you can decide what is best for you. We can't make the decision for you Ris." Jeremy pointed out.

"I know, deep down I know that, I just don't know what that decision is yet." Marissa said softly. She raised her head to look at Jeremy then asked,"will you at least stay here tonight? I don't want be alone."

"Of course." Jeremy said with a smile.

"Thank you." Marissa said, as she gave him another quick hug before walking over toward her bed. She pulled back comforter then crawled over to the other side of the bed before laying down. Jeremy kicked off his shoes then laid down beside her on her his back, as soon as he was comfortable, he motioned for her to come closer, knowing that she wanted to cuddle with him and lay her head on his chest as usual, which she did.

"So what's new with you? Tell me something, anything to distract me from my life." Marissa begged him.

"There's not anything really going on." Jeremy lied. There was something new going on, like the fact that Stefan, his brother and Anna were vampires and the fact that he read Elena's diary and found out that Damon had compelled them both after Vicki died, but he knew now was not the time to tell her about that, she already had enough going on.

"Nothing at all?" Marissa asked again.

"Uncle John is in town." Jeremy said, finally thinking of something to tell her.

Marissa raised her head to look at him then said,"John is in town? Really?"

"Yeah, he showed up while you were at your Dad's recently." Jeremy answered.

"And you are just now telling me this?" Marissa asked smiling. She was about the only who actually liked with John Gilbert would visit, mainly cause he always brought her presents.

"I'm sorry, it's just with everything going on I forgot. He did ask about you thought and he'll be at the pageant, so I'm sure you will see him then." Jeremy explained.

Marissa continued to smile as she said,"I love when Uncle John visits."

"You're the only one." Jeremy said with a laugh, then added,"Jenna and Elena both seem annoyed by him. Elena especially seems aggravated by him this trip."

"Why?" Marissa asked confused.

"I don't know. Elena has been very secretive lately." Jeremy said bitterly, then added,"although she did tell me something big recently."

"What?" Marissa asked.

"She's adopted." Jeremy answered.

"What?!" Marissa called out in surprise, as she snapped her head up to look at him. "What... How.. Who?" She asked, having a hard time speaking after he dropped that bomb.

"I don't know who her real parents are if that's what you're asking and as far as how she found out, she said Jenna told her recently." Jeremy explained.

"Man you have really been holding out on me." Marissa mumbled. She still couldn't get over the fact that Elena was not his real sister, not that it really mattered, but it was still weird, it was like finding out Caroline wasn't really her sister, not that it would change their relationship, which she was sure was the same for Jeremy and Elena, it was just strange to find out the person you thought was your full blooded sibling really wasn't.

"It wasn't that big of a deal." Jeremy pointed out.

"It's a really big deal Jer. I mean sure, at the end of the day she's still your sister, but it's just wow, such a surprise. It'll be like finding out you and me are related, It'll totally blow my mind." Marissa explained.

"Now that would be weird and a little messed up if we were siblings." Jeremy said with a laugh. Thinking about how wrong it would be to be in love with her if she was his sister, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

"Why would that be so messed up? We pretty much grew up together like siblings would." Marissa pointed out.

"Yeah but being related would make that kiss we had years ago very wrong." Jeremy said, thinking back to the time they kissed when they were twelve and curious.

"Oh yeah, very good point." Marissa said laughing, then she cuddled up to him again and said,"well even if we are not related, you are my family Jeremy and you'll always be. I got your back."

"And I got yours." Jeremy added, as he kissed the top of her head. Even if he never became lucky enough to be with her in a romantic way, she would always be a big part of his life, she'll always have his heart and he was ok with that.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey everyone! So sorry I haven't updated this story in awhile. I have been hooked on writing a teen wolf story, but I'll try to do better at updating this story cause I have missed writing Rissa. I apologize for this chapter being short and I know not a lot happened, but at least Rissa and Jeremy made up right lol. The next chapter will be the actual pageant and I'll try to get that wrote and posted soon. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to Nicole Lace, Kira Tsumi, shippolove844, Nina the Keyblader Mistress, Sage Londyn, Tamara and Writteninthestars08 for reviewing the last chapter. Happy reading :)_

_ps: Thank you to everyone for getting this story to over 100 reviews. You have no idea how happy that makes me :)_


	20. Miss Mystic Falls:Part 3

**Miss Mystic Falls~Part 3**

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><p>After spending most of the night talking with Jeremy, the two teens spent most of the next day catching up on some much needed sleep, until it was time to get ready for the pageant that evening. While Marissa was in her bedroom getting dressed and Caroline was getting everything she would need for the pageant together, Jeremy was lounging in front of the tv in the living room. He knew he should have went home to get dressed, but instead he decided to hang out at the Forbes house. The less time he was around Elena the better, which had nothing to do with finding out she was adopted and everything to do with her keeping secrets from him. She knew about vampires, she knew what really happened to Vicki, she knew everything but continued to look him in the face and lie to him, which made it hard for him to be around her. Instead he had called his Uncle and asked him to bring his suit to him and to give him a ride, he figured that would be the best plan.<p>

"Hey Jer?" Marissa called out from her bedroom.

"Yeah?" Jeremy yelled back.

"Did you get in touch with Uncle John? Is he bringing you your stuff?" Marissa asked, as she exited her bedroom and made her way toward the living room.

"Yeah, he should be here soon and he asked if..." Jeremy begin to say, as he stood up from the couch when he heard her walking toward him. He turned around to face her to finish his sentence, but the words he was about to say left his mind as she stood in front of him in a long black strapless gown that hugged her curves just right, making her look breathtakingly beautiful.

"Uncle John asked what?" Marissa asked him.

"He uh, he asked if uh..." Jeremy begin to stutter, trying to remember what he was going to say, but it was hard to concentrate with her standing before him looking the way she did, but when she shot him a confused look, he knew he needed to pull it together before she realized he was checking her out. He shook his head and forced himself to look away as he continued,"he asked if you and Caroline needed a ride too, but I told him I wasn't sure if she was driving herself or not."

"Hm, I'm not sure either. I just assumed she would, but you know Care, she might like a chauffeur instead. It'll make her feel all important, like a celebrity or something." Marissa joked.

"Hey, I heard that." Caroline said, as she walked up behind her sister holding her dress for the pageant as well as a bag full of all the hair and make up stuff she would need to get ready once they made it to the place where the pageant was taking place. She sat the dress and bag down on the couch then added,"although you are right, it would make me feel important."

"So we're all riding with Uncle John then?" Jeremy asked them.

The two sisters nodded their heads to answer, then Marissa turned to Caroline and asked,"do you have everything?"

"I think so." Caroline mumbled, as she looked inside the bag to make sure. Her biggest fear was getting there only to realize she forgot something major she would need.

While Marissa helped Caroline double check everything, Jeremy took that moment to check her out again. It wasn't just the dress that made her look stunning, it was everything, like the light make-up she had applied that made her blue eyes stand out and the way she had pulled her long blond hair back loosely in a bun with curly pieces framing her face. He knew for a fact if she was in the pageant, she would be the winner hands down, cause not only was she beautiful on the outside, but she was also beautiful on the inside too.

Jeremy was so lost in thought, he never heard her speaking to him, until she slapped his arm and called out his name, bringing him out of his daze. "Sorry, what were you saying?" He asked.

"I was asking what you thought we should do with Caroline's hair. She's thinking of wearing it up." Marissa said, as she piled up Caroline's hair on top of her head, then she dropped her hair and added,"but I think she should wear it down. What do you think?"

"It looks good either way." Jeremy answered with a shrug.

Marissa rolled her eyes then laughed as she said,"you are no help Jer."

"I'm a guy Ris. What do I know about hair?" Jeremy pointed out.

Marissa laughed again then turned to look at her sister as she suggested,"how about you leave it down, but pin one side back."

"That could work, thanks." Caroline said smiling, then she glanced over her stuff again before calling out,"shoes."

"What?" Marissa and Jeremy asked confused.

"I forgot shoes. How could I forget shoes." Caroline mumbled, as she rushed to her bedroom. She was only gone for a few seconds before she yelled out,"Rissa I swear if you don't keep that damn cat out of my closet I will hurt him."

"Leave my baby alone Care." Marissa yelled back. She ignored the rest of Caroline's threats, mainly cause she knew she didn't mean them, then turned to Jeremy. She gave him a smile then said,"thanks for being my 'date' for the pageant."

One of the things they talked about the night before was about how with her on the outs with Tyler, she now didn't have anyone to hang out with during the pageant, causing Jeremy to offered to be her date for the night and keep her company, which she accepted. Jeremy shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal, when in fact it was a very big deal to him, it was a dream come true to go as her date, although he couldn't tell her that.

"I was surprised you wasn't going with Anna. I thought you two were dating or whatever." Marissa said, hoping she appeared nonchalant about it. She still didn't like the idea of Jeremy with Anna, although she wasn't sure why, just the thought of them two together made her sick to her stomach.

"We uh, we haven't talked much lately." Jeremy said vaguely. The last time he saw Anna was right after Vicki's body was found, Anna assumed he only want to be turned cause he thought Vicki was a vampire and he wanted to be with her, but that wasn't the truth at all. He had lost a lot in his young life and was tired of feeling empty inside, in a weird way, by turning him, Anna could give him his life back or at least that was how he viewed it. But before he could explain that to Anna she left and he had not been able to get in touch with her since then. Of course he couldn't tell Marissa any of that.

"So, are you two dating?" Marissa asked nervously. She honestly didn't know which answer she preferred the most, on one hand, she wanted Jeremy to be happy, but on the other hand, she didn't want him to be happy with someone else.

"I'm not sure what we are right now." Jeremy answered honestly, then decided to change the subject from himself to her, as he asked,"do you know what you're going to do about Tyler now?"

Marissa opened then closed her mouth, unsure about what to say, a part of her knew she should just dump him and move on, but she didn't know if she could do that. Just the thought of breaking up with him and never having him in her life again made her feel like she couldn't breath. Tyler was her everything and she honestly didn't know if she could live without him.

She opened her mouth again but before she could say a word, they heard the doorbell ring. She breathed a sigh of relief at not having to answer right now, then joked,"and that sound means we are all out of time today."

Jeremy chuckled at her comment as she walked over toward the front door. She couldn't help but smile and squeal out happily when she saw John Gilbert in front of her. She always loved when he visited, every since she was a little girl. She knew most people were annoyed with his visits, mainly cause he was a bit bossy and stuck his nose in where it did not belong according to her Mom, who she knew called him 'Jackass' behind his back, but he had always been nice to her and treated her like family, plus it helped he would bring her presents like he did for Elena and Jeremy.

"Well if it isn't my favorite pretend niece." John said smiling.

"Hey Uncle John." Marissa said smiling back, as she rushed forward to give him a hug. Even if he wasn't her real uncle, she had been calling him that since she was little.

After a quick hug, John walked into the house holding Jeremy's suit and a small gift bag. He handed Jeremy his suit, who went into the spare bathroom to change, leaving John and Marissa alone in the living room.

John nodded his head toward the bathroom then asked,"so when are you and my nephew going to get together, then you could go from my pretend niece to a real niece."

Marissa chuckled and rolled her eyes at his comment, it was the same thing he asked every time he visit, like the rest of the Gilbert family, he couldn't wait until the two teens got together. "You know we are only friends Uncle John." she answered.

"For now, but that could always change." John pointed out.

Marissa, wanting to change the subject, eyed the bag he was still holding then asked,"so what did you bring me?"

"And here I thought you were happy to see me when really all you wanted was your present." John joked.

"You know I am always happy to see you, but yes, I want my present." Marissa joked back, as she held out her hand.

John laughed at the younger girl as he handed her the bag then said,"think of this as your late birthday present since I missed it."

Marissa smiled as she pulled out a beautiful crystal bottle of perfume from the bag. She removed the top and took a small sniff of it then said,"mm that smells great, what is it?"

"I'm not sure, I just thought you would like it." John lied. He knew exactly what was in the perfume, it was vervain mixed with a few other scents so the vervain scent wouldn't be overpowering.

"I love it. Thank you." Marissa said, as she gave him another hug.

"You should go put some on now." John suggested, wanting her to be protected from every vampire in town.

"Yeah, I'll go do that now." Marissa agreed, as she made her way to her bedroom.

As she went to spray the vervain perfume on her neck, she heard Caroline calling for her, needing her help with something. She sat the bottle of perfume down on her dresser then headed for Caroline's bedroom to help, she had planned to return to her bedroom to spray on the perfume but never got a chance to do so before they all left the house to go to the Founder's Hall, where the pageant was taking place. It wasn't until then that she remembered she never got to try out the new perfume, but vowed to try it soon.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Many minutes later, the two sisters were in one of the upstairs rooms at the Founder's Hall as Marissa helped Caroline get ready. After getting her hair and make up perfect, Marissa helped her into her new strapless green dress.

Once she was completely ready, Caroline did a few spins in front of a mirror, before looking at Marissa and asking,"so, how do I look?"

"Like the new Miss Mystic Falls." Marissa answered honestly with a smile on her face.

"Thank you." Caroline said smiling back, then joked,"now you may bow down at my feet."

Marissa laughed at her joke, then said,"I have a surprise for you."

"What?" Caroline asked with a curious expression.

Marissa picked up her black clutch and begin to dig around in it, looking for the small black jewelry box, when she found the box, she pulled it out and handed it to Caroline.

"What is it?" Caroline asked.

"Open it and see." Marissa answered.

Caroline opened the box and gasp in surprise when she saw the diamond earrings inside. She was pretty sure she knew which earrings they were, they were the ones that belonged to their grandmother, the ones she left for Marissa when she passed away. She had left Caroline a diamond bracelet, which she was already wearing right now. "Are these grandma's earrings? The ones she left for you?" She asked, just to make sure.

Marissa nodded her head and smiled, as she said,"yep, those are the ones she wore when she won Miss Mystic Falls. I figured you could wear them for good luck."

"Thank you." Caroline said, as she rushed forward to hug her little sister.

Marissa grinned at her reaction as she hugged her back, she was glad that she was able to make her sister happy. As the two sisters pulled away, Mrs. Lockwood poked her head in the room to give all the girls a five minute warning. Marissa gave Caroline another quick hug, wished her good luck, then made her way out of the room and toward the stairs. She was about to go walk down the stairs when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and smiled when she saw it was Mrs. Lockwood.

"Hello Marissa, you look lovely this evening." Mrs. Lockwood said smiling.

"Thank you, so do you." Marissa said back with a friendly smile of her own, then she glanced around and asked,"is Tyler here?"

"No, he said he wasn't feeling well." Mrs. Lockwood answered.

"Oh." Marissa said quietly, unsure how she felt about that. She knew he had said he was finally going to step back and give her space, but now that he was, she missed him.

"I know this makes me a nosy mother, but I just wanted to ask you, do you know what is going on with him lately?" Mrs. Lockwood asked.

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked, confused.

"Since you two started dating, I have noticed such a positive change in him and he's been so happy, but the last few days, it's like he's went back to his old self. He looks like he has lost his best friend, but of course when I ask him what's wrong, he snaps and says nothing." Mrs, Lockwood explains, then added,"I guess what I'm trying to ask is, is everything ok with you two?"

"Everything is just fine." Marissa lied, as she flashed her a fake smile.

"I really hope so. You're good for him and I know he cares about you." Mrs. Lockwood said, as she laid a hand on Marissa's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. Before Marissa could say anything back, she added,"I better go round up the girls, it's time to begin."

When Mrs. Lockwood walked away, Marissa was at a lose for words at her comment and with Tyler heavily on her mind, she made her way downstairs. She hated to think of Tyler being so upset. She had noticed the longing looks he had been sending her lately and she knew he was hoping they would work things out, but she didn't realize being apart was getting to him that badly, she knew it was killing her being away from him, but never dreamed it would be the same for him. She had honestly thought he would get over her quickly and move on.

As much as she hated to miss Caroline's introduction, she had to talk to him, she had to call him now. She made her way past everyone and headed toward the nearest door leading outside. Once she made it out, she took a few steps away from the building, trying to find a quiet place to make a phone call. She opened her clutch to remove her cellphone then quickly dialed Tyler's number before placing the phone up to her ear.

As the phone begin to ring on the other end, she raised her head and gasped in surprise when she saw Stefan standing in front of her, she never even heard him walking toward her, but the part that really worried her was the weird expression on his face as he walked closer to her.

"A-are you ok Stefan? Do you need me to call someone for you?" Marissa asked nervously, as she took a step back.

Stefan shook his head 'no' as he begin to take smaller steps toward her while breathing heavily, he was trying to stay in control, but was having a hard time doing so as he heard her heart racing in fear, a sound he had missed. In his mind, he could already imagine himself drinking her dry, and all he wanted was a little taste, that was all, just one little taste then everything would be ok.

As Tyler answered the call, Stefan face changed as he rushed toward her, he slapped his hand over mouth, cutting her off mid-scream, then wrapped his other arm around her waist before using his vampire speed to run away from the building before anyone heard or saw anything, causing her to drop her cellphone in the process, with a worried Tyler yelling her name on the other end.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Stefan ran toward the end of the parking lot, which was the farthest from the building and surrounded by woods, before he finally stopped and released his grip on her waist. He took a quick step back and turned away from her, he couldn't believe he just grabbed her, he was seriously losing control and was worried he wouldn't ever be in control again. It took him centuries to get over his blood lust and he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it again.

While Stefan's back turned, Marissa watched him for a few moments, when she noticed that he wasn't paying her any attention, she took a few cautiously steps backwards. She has no idea what was going on, this was not the Stefan she knew and what was up with his face? Either way, she wasn't hanging around to find out. As he continued to keep his back toward her, she quickly turned around to run away, only she didn't make it to far before Stefan spun around to grab her, pulling her back toward him.

"Why are you doing this?" Marissa cried out.

"I don't know." Stefan yelled back.

"Someone will notice I'm missing. They will be looking for me, if you just let me go back in, I won't tell anyone. I swear Stefan, I won't say a word." Marissa pleaded with him.

"Shut up. Just shut up for a minute." Stefan snapped, as he pushed her against a car, causing her to cry out in pain. He knew she was right, he should just let her go inside before he did something he would regret, but he couldn't do it. The more scared she became, the more hungry he was. He glanced down at her wrist and noticed she wasn't wearing the vervain bracelet tonight. He lifted his head to look into her eyes as he said,"don't move, don't scream. You're just standing in the parking lot with me talking."

"I'm in the parking lot with you." Marissa repeated, as he compelled her.

Stefan took a closer look at her tear stained face and felt guilt over take him, this wasn't him, he didn't do things like this, he wasn't a bad guy. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not very good to be around right now, I'm a little bit on the edge. I've been drinking the human stuff and it's really screwing with my head." He said, as he continued to look at her.

As she shot him a confused look, unsure about what he was talking about, but to scared to ask, he took a step back and begin to pace in front of her as he added,"she knows now. God! She wasn't supposed to found out, I didn't want her to found out, now everything's ruined."

"She who? What is going on Stefan?" Marissa asked fearfully, as new tears begin to fill her eyes.

Stefan ignored her question as he continued to talk,"I don't hurt people. I don't do that. I'm the good brother."

"A-are you going to hurt m-me?" Marissa asked with a whimper.

Stefan stopped pacing at her question, he turned to face her as he answered,"I want to kill you, I want to rip into your skin and I want to feed on your blood."

As he took a few steps toward her, Marissa closed her eyes and begin to cry, she flinched as he laid a finger on her neck. He lightly ran his finger down the side of her neck, staring at it the whole time, as he said,"your carotid artery right here. If you puncture this just right you can control the blood flow. It takes practice but it doesn't have to make a mess, you don't have to waste any."

Marissa opened her eyes and could tell from the expression on his face that he didn't want to do this, he didn't want to hurt her, she could tell he was fighting whatever it was he was going through. "You don't want to do this Stefan, I know you don't." She said to him, hoping to reach him.

Stefan shook his head as he rested his hands on her either side of her face then said,"if I give in, there's no going back."

"Then don't. Don't do this Stefan, please." Marissa said softly, as tears continued to fall down her face.

"I just want one taste, that's all I need, I just want one taste." Stefan mumbled, as he ran a finger down her neck again.

"No. Please, no." Marissa whimpered, as she saw his face change again and fangs came out of his mouth like a vampire. She couldn't believe her eyes, vampires were real and Stefan was one of them. She cried out in pain as she felt him bit into her neck and begin to drink her blood.

Marissa closed her eyes as she continued to softly cry, she wanted to scream or yell as loud as she could, but she couldn't, it was impossible for her to make a loud noise as he kept sucking out the blood from her neck. She wasn't sure how long he had been drinking her blood, but as the sun set and it begin to turn dark, he finally released her and took a quick step back as he said said over and over again,"I can't do this."

"It hurts." Marissa whimpered, as she laid a hand on her neck then pulled it away. Her eyes widen in surprise when she saw all the blood on her hand as well as felt it dripping down her neck and onto her bare shoulder.

"Oh god oh god oh god!" Stefan repeated when he saw what he did. Then when he smelled her blood he took a step toward her as he said,"I can't stop."

Marissa cried out quietly, afraid he was going to bit her again, instead he laid his hands on her face, forcing her to look at him as he asked,"why are you not screaming for help? Why are you not running away?"

"Y-you told me n-not to." Marissa cried out, taking him by surprise. He had honestly forgot that he had compelled her.

Stefan took a deep breath, trying to control his urge as he said,"Rissa, listen to me, I need you to run. Run like hell away from me, scream for out loud for help. Just go. Run now!"

Marissa didn't think twice as she screamed out before turning to run through the woods beside them as fast as her high heels would let her. She glanced behind a few times, making sure he wasn't coming after her, as she yelled out a 'help me' before turning her head back. She gasped in surprise and skid to a stop when she saw Stefan standing in front of her. "You said to run!" She cried out to him.

"I changed my mind." Stefan snapped, as he face begin to change again and he rushed toward her. She screamed out and tried to fight against him when he bit into her neck again, she was close to blacking out when she finally heard someone coming to her rescue.

"Stefan! Let her go!" Elena cried out, fearing for the younger girl who looked close to passing out.

At hearing Elena's voice, something snapped inside of Stefan, he quickly released Marissa, who fell to the ground, as he backed up and looked at the teenage before looking over at Elena with a guilty expression on his face. He looked back over at Marissa as Elena rushed to her side, holding her in her arms, as Marissa begin to sob out in fear.

Marissa was fighting to not lose consciousness as she tuned out the other voice, which she would guess was Damon as he tried to talk to Stefan. She opened her eyes and gasped in surprise when she saw Stefan throw Damon through the air, causing Elena to tighten her grip around Marissa as she yelled at Stefan to stop. Marissa, Elena and Damon were surprised when Stefan suddenly grabbed his head and begin to yell out in pain, the three turned their head to see Bonnie staring at Stefan, Elena and Damon knew instantly what she was doing, she was doing a spell to stop him.

A few minutes later, Bonnie stopped the spell once she realized Stefan was back in control of himself. He glanced around, looking at what he did to Marissa, then looking at Elena and his brother with a unreadable expression on his face before running off.

Once he was gone, Damon looked over at the blond headed girl, feeling a need to help her, something he hasn't felt for someone in a long time, before walking over toward her. He removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders before kneeling down in front of her.

Damon carefully tilted her head toward the side to check out her neck, causing her to whimper out in pain. "Shh, it's ok, you're ok now." He whispered to her, as he wiped the tears from her face.

"He-he bit me. Stefan b-bit me." Marissa cried to him.

"I know, but you're ok now." Damon said softly.

"Will she be ok?" Elena whispered to Damon.

Damon glanced over at Elena and Bonnie, who had joined them since Stefan ran off, then answered,"she will be, but we need to get her to the hospital, soon."

"S-Stefan is a vampire. He's a v-vampire." Marissa mumbled out weakly, grabbing their attention.

Damon, Elena and Bonnie all looked at each other with wide eyes at her comment. They were not surprise that she figured it out, but they had hoped she never had to find out, at least not like this. Damon raised his eyebrows at Elena, causing her to shake her head, she knew exactly what he was thinking, they needed to compel Marissa again, although this time Elena wasn't so sure about it. She hated having to mess with her head the first time.

"We can't. We can't do that to her again." Elena whispered to Damon.

"We don't have a choice. We can't have her crying to her Mom, the town Sheriff, about vampires." Damon hissed.

Elena glanced over at Bonnie, needing her to back her up, instead the other girl shrugged her shoulders, unsure about what they should do. Like Elena, she hated the thought of messing with Marissa's mind, but on the other hand, she didn't want the younger girl to fear for her life every day by knowing about the town secret. She should be able to go out and have fun without having to look over her shoulder constantly with worry.

Damon took Bonnie's silence as a vote for his idea, as he looked back at Marissa, whose eyes were closed as she kept mumbling about vampires to herself. He softly called her name and waited until she opened her eyes to look at him before he said quietly,"hey, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to look into my eyes and listen closely."

Marissa nodded her head and did what he told her to do as he begin to say,"there are no such thing as vampires. You went out to make a phone call and a animal attacked you. But you'll be ok, everything is ok."

"I'm ok." Marissa repeated, as he compelled her.

"Right, you're ok." Damon said again, as he lightly touched her cheek before resting his hand on her face, looking her over again. He could tell she had lost a good bit of blood, but after a trip to the hospital, she should be fine or at least he hoped so.

Marissa leaned against his head and felt her eyes begin to close again as she mumbled out,"I'm so tired, I just want to sleep."

"That's fine, go to sleep. You'll be ok. We'll get you help." Damon said to her, which was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hey all, I really hope you liked this chapter. I actually had a lot of fun writing it. I've also been picking out outfits for Rissa on Polyvore, I only have the first six chapters done so far but am planning to do all the chapters or at least most of them. You can find the link on my profile or if that doesn't work just message me and I'll give you the link. Anyway thank you all for reading and/or adding. Also big thanks to Emmettluver2010, Rebekah, roses and violets, shippolove844 and Sage Londyn for reviewing. If you're reading please let me know if you are still into this story, I'm worried noone is liking it anymore lol, which would suck cause I'm still loving writing it. Happy reading and please let me know what you all think! _


	21. Blood Brothers

_a/n - I had a couple of reviews asking about the vervain perfume. Rissa never got to put any perfume on before leaving the house, she also did not have on her vervain bracelet that Elena gave her in chapter thirteen. So, sadly in the moment when Stefan attacked her and she was compelled by Damon, she was vervain free. I hope that cleared up any confusion and I apologize if I didn't make that clear in the previous chapter. If anyone ever has any questions or if you're confused about anything, you can ask me anything in a review or send me a message and I'll try to answer and explain. Enough of my rambling lol, now on with the new chapter :) Hope you enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Blood Brothers<strong>

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><p>Early the next morning, Tyler yawned and sat back in the uncomfortable chair that he had been in all night as he sat by Marissa's hospital bed. When she had called him earlier and he heard her scream out over the phone, his whole body had froze in fear. He had never been as worried as he was in that moment, the thought of losing her was to much to bear, he couldn't do it and he wouldn't do it. Even though he wasn't there and had no idea what was going on, he was going to do whatever he could to help her. He couldn't let down, he had to save her, cause after all, she was still his girl.<p>

The first logical thing he did was try to call her phone back, maybe something scared her and she dropped the phone, but after calling her back repeatedly with no answer, he next went to calling whoever he could think of that he knew was at the Founder's Hall at that moment. Unfortunately for him, most of the people that were there were busy with the pageant at the time. Leaving him with only one person to call, a person he never imagine he would have to call, but for Marissa he would do it, he would have to call Jeremy Gilbert. If anyone knew where she was or what was going on, it would be Jeremy, as much as he hated to admit that, but like everyone else, he knew those two were always attached at the hip. But when Jeremy told him he had not seen her in awhile, that's when he knew, something was wrong and the fear begin to take over.

It wasn't to long after that when he got a phone call from his Mom, the phone call that made his heart drop, Marissa had been attack by a animal and had lost a lot of blood. At the moment his Mom didn't know how Marissa was doing, all she knew was the younger girl was headed for the hospital now.

Without a second thought, he grabbed his car keys and jumped in his car, heading for the hospital. On the way, he was suddenly reminded when Vicki was attacked by a animal at the beginning of the school year, thankfully she survived that, which made him hopeful that Marissa would too. Granted not long after that was when everyone thought Vicki had left town when really she had died from a overdose, or at least that was what the police were saying, but Vicki had a lot of problems even before the animal attack. Either way he didn't like the similarities between the two girls and he couldn't help but fear that he would lose Marissa, which was something he didn't know if he could ever recover from. Losing Marissa in that way would be the worse thing that could ever happen. Sure losing Vicki bother him too, although he felt guilty at times that it didn't bother him as much as it should have, but it still bothered him cause he did like Vicki, but it was nothing compared to what he feels for Marissa. With Marissa, he was feeling things he had never felt before, things he never thought he would feel, it was love.

Tyler never thought he would fall in love, he always thought he would date around, going from girl to girl like he had been doing for years. That had worked for him, he never got close to anyone which meant he wouldn't get hurt and that plan had worked for him, until he met Marissa. She took him completely by surprise then suddenly he wanted to open up, for once he wanted to be honest with a girl then the next thing he knew, he was falling for her. Although at first he wasn't sure if that was what he was feeling, but after the Kelly drama and now this, he knew exactly what he was feeling now. He was completely 100% head over heels in love with Marissa Forbes.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and felt his heart race in fear when that realization hit him. It wasn't that he feared loved or regret loving her, it was the fear that now he could be hurt. If she didn't take him back or worse never feel for him the way he feels for her, it would hurt like hell. He had never experienced that feeling before, rejection and heartache. He had broke a lot of hearts but never had his broken and he didn't want to start now. But first he had to make sure Marissa would be ok, then he would worry about all the love stuff later.

As soon as he had entered the hospital, he had rushed to her side, he didn't care that he wasn't family and wasn't allowed in her room, he was going inside and he wasn't going to move until she woke up. The doctor and nurses were not happy about it, but he just reminded them who he was, he was a Lockwood and he w_as_ going inside, and that is exactly what he did. He went into her hospital room, sat down beside the bed and had not move a inch since. He didn't care what time it was, that his back was killing him or that he was about to fall asleep, he wasn't moving until she opened her eyes and told him to leave.

Tyler yawned again then folded his arms across his chest as he felt his eyelids begin to close. He quickly snapped them open then looked over at Marissa's peaceful face as she continued to sleep. The doctor said she was lucky. Even though she had lost a lot of blood, she was going to be ok after a good bit of rest. The doctor wasn't sure when she would wake up though, but the fact that was she ok and that she would wake up was enough for him, he couldn't wait until that moment happened. He couldn't wait to see her bright blue eyes and beautiful smile.

He wasn't sure how long he had been looking at her before his eyes closed again. He didn't even know he had closed his eyes, until he felt a hand on his arm, gently shaking him awake. He quickly opened his eyes and looked at Marissa again, hoping she was awake, but was disappointed to see she was still sleeping. He looked over to his left and saw Caroline, who had woke him up, standing beside him.

"I'll take over if you want to go home and grab some sleep." Caroline suggested to him. She had been sleeping in one of the more comfortable chairs across the room, it wasn't much of a peaceful rest, but it was more than what he had. She knew he had not got any sleep since arriving at the hospital. "I'll give you a call when she wakes up." She added when he shook his head.

"Once she is awake and I know she's ok, then I'll sleep." Tyler said, being stubborn.

Caroline softly smiled as she watched Tyler stare at her sister with a concern yet loving expression on his face. She never thought she would see this side of Tyler, if someone had told her months ago that one day Tyler would love someone more than himself, she would have laughed at them, but then he fell for her sister and she saw the change in Tyler. A change she never would have believed if she had not seen it with her own eyes and she was happy to have had a front row seat to see it all unfold.

"Guess I better go get us some coffee then." Caroline suggested, she too had no plans in leaving Marissa's side.

Tyler nodded his head but didn't say anything as Caroline lightly squeezed his shoulder for comfort, before walking past him and exiting the room. Once he was alone, he leaned forward and grabbed Marissa's hand. He raised his other hand to cover his mouth as another yawn escaped, once the yawn was over, he shook his head, trying to get rid of the sleepiness that was trying to over take him. He still refused to close his eyes until she opened hers. He looked over at the girl who had stolen his heart as he wished with all his might that she would wake up, just open her eyes so he could see that she was ok. He needed to see that.

He looked down at her hand, the one he was holding and lightly ran his thumb over her knuckles. As he continued to caress the back of her hand, he did something he had not done in a long time. He prayed to God that he wouldn't lose her. He was so lost in thought he almost didn't feel her hand move as she turned it over to hold his hand, intertwining their fingers.

Tyler quickly looked up from their joined hands to look at the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Marissa awake with a soft smile on her face as she watched him stand up from the chair he had been sitting in. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could say a word, his lips were pressed against hers for a sweet gently kiss.

After the kiss, Tyler rested his forehead against hers with his eyes still closed, afraid if he opened them he would see that this all was just a dream. As she laid a hand on the side of his face, he felt the familiar tingles he always felt when she touched him. Then the tingles went into overdrive when spoke, her warm breath hitting his face.

"You're here." Marissa whispered, feeling a little surprised. After telling him to give her space she was worried he wouldn't be there, but was glad to see that he was.

Tyler pulled back to look at her, seeing the surprise expression on her face. He couldn't believe she honestly thought he wouldn't show up, of course he would be there for her, he would always be there for her. Break-up or no break-up. He opened his mouth to tell her that, but before he could, she whispered something else.

"What?" Tyler asked, confused.

"Water." Marissa whispered again.

"Oh right." Tyler said, as he straightened up and grabbed the small pitcher of water that was on the bedside table. He poured the cold clear liquid into a plastic cup then handed it to her. He waited until she took a few swallows of the water then asked,"do you remember what happened?"

Marissa sat the cup down on the table beside her then said,"I remember trying to call you, then something, some kind of animal I guess, attacked me."

Tyler nodded his head as he stood by her bed, fighting the urge to touch her, as he said,"I know I'm suppose to be giving you space, but when I heard you scream over the phone I.."

"It's ok. You don't have to explain." Marissa said, interrupting him. "Besides, I'm glad you're here." She added, as she smiled at him.

"Good. Cause I'm not going anywhere. Even the nurses and doctor couldn't run me off." Tyler said with a laugh.

Marissa chuckled at his words then bit her bottom lip before looking up at him shyly and said,"that's good to hear, cause I-I don't want anymore space between us."

"What are you saying?" Tyler asked, not wanting to get his hopes up about her giving him another chance.

"I miss you. I miss us." Marissa admitted, then added,"that's why I was calling before the animal attack, I miss you Ty."

Tyler smiled at her words and felt his heart racing. He had worried that she would never forgive him or give him another chance and he couldn't have been happier when he heard her say she missed him. He leaned forward to quickly kiss her lips then said,"I missed you too Ris. I was worried I had lost you forever."

"You haven't lost me. You still have me Ty, I'm still yours." Marissa said softly before placing her lips against his for another kiss.

Tyler laid a hand on the side of her face as he tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss. He knew he should be taking it easy with her, she had lost a lot of blood and was weak, but he couldn't stop kissing her. Her lips were his drug and he couldn't get enough. She rested her hands on his shoulders and tried to keep up with his pace, she was finding it hard to breath but didn't want to stop. It had been to long since they had kissed and she didn't want to stop now. She wouldn't have stopped for anything if the door would not have opened as Caroline walked back into the room, calling out her name happily when she saw that her sister was awake.

"Oh my God! Rissa! You're awake!" Caroline cheered, as she sat the two coffee cups down on the table. She gently pushed Tyler aside to lean down and hug Marissa tightly.

"Can't ... breath ... Care.." Marissa choked out, as Caroline continued to hug her.

"Oh stop being so dramatic Ris. Besides the real reason you probably can't breath is cause you two were just sucking face." Caroline joked, as she looked at her sister and Tyler with a smile on her face, then asked,"what's going on with you two? I can't believe I leave the room for a few minutes and miss everything."

"I'm going to go grab the doctor." Tyler suggested, as he backed away from the two sisters and exited the room. Not wanting to go into any details at the moment with a nosy Caroline.

"So did we win? Are you 'Miss Mystic Falls'?" Marissa asked once the two girls were alone.

"Yes I did." Caroline answered with a grin on her face, then added,"but no changing the subject here. What is up with the kissing? Are you two back together?"

"Shouldn't you be asking me how I'm feeling or something? I did just get attacked by a animal you know." Marissa pointed out.

"After what I just witnessed, it looks like you're feeling very well." Caroline joked, as she sat down in the chair by the bed that Tyler had been sitting in earlier.

Marissa laughed, feeling better and better, then said,"to answer you're question, yes, Tyler and I are back together."

"Good. I know he makes you happy and after all of this, I know he'll always be there for you." Caroline said, then explained further when Marissa shot her a confused look,"from the moment you were brought to the hospital, Tyler never left your side, no matter how many times the nurse tried to make him. He refused to leave you."

"Really?" Marissa asked, smiling.

Caroline nodded her head then said,"I never thought I would say it, I never thought I would see the day that Tyler Lockwood would fall in love, but it's clear to see that he is. That boy is crazy in love with you."

Marissa felt her eyes widen at her statement. She knew Tyler cared about her, he had even told her that, but he had never once said the 'love' word. Was Caroline right? Did Tyler love her? Before she could ask Caroline any questions, the doctor walked in to check on her, making Caroline and Tyler leave the room while he looked her over. She barely listened to the doctor as she kept thinking about what her sister said. She knew she shouldn't have even been thinking about love with her and Tyler at the moment. They had just got back together and she was still working on trusting him again, the love thing should wait, but the heart wants what the heart wants and when Tyler walked back into her room smiling at her, she knew what her heart was thinking. She was in love with Tyler Lockwood.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Even though she was doing better and was expected to make a full recovery, the doctor wanted her to spent one more night at the hospital, just to make sure the cuts on her neck wasn't infected. As long as everything was ok in the morning, which it should be, then she could go home. Caroline and Tyler had kept her company all day, while most of her other friends were in and out visiting, as well as Jenna and John who visited separately. Surprisingly her Mom didn't stick around for long, once she knew she was ok, Liz left to find the 'animal' that attacked her. She was surprised though that Jeremy had not visit yet, but she tried not to let it get her down, she believed he would show up at some point.

Later that day, she sent Tyler and Caroline home to sleep, even though they both argued with her, neither one wanting to leave her alone, but they finally agreed to leave for a short time then they both would return to keep her company until she was released in the morning. Now she laid in the bed alone, trying to sleep but was having a hard time getting comfortable. She glanced over at the door when it opened and smiled when Jeremy walked in.

"I was starting to think you were not going to visit me." Marissa joked, as he slowly made his way toward her.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy said with a guilty expression on his face. He knew he should have visited earlier, but he couldn't bring himself to go to her sooner. It was his fault she was laying in that hospital bed.

Marissa shrugged like it was no big deal then said with a smile,"It's ok. I knew you would visit eventually. I got your back and you got mine, remember."

"But that's just it Rissa, I didn't have your back." Jeremy said, as he sat down in the chair by her bed before adding,"that's what I'm apologizing for. I should have been with you. I should have protected you. I'm sorry."

"Jer seriously, it's ok. I'm ok, you don't have to feel bad. You did nothing wrong and you don't have to apologize." Marissa said, as she reached out to hold his hand. She gave it a squeeze, hoping to comfort him.

"I still shouldn't have let you out of my sight." Jeremy mumbled, as he held onto her hand not wanting to let her go. He couldn't believe how close he came to losing her. He didn't believe for one minute that it was a animal attack, he knew what really attacked her. He knew it was a vampire, he just didn't know who did it. He knew it wasn't Anna, but he hoped she could help him figure out who did attack Marissa when he saw her later tonight.

"And I shouldn't have went out alone to make a phone call, but I never thought a animal would attack me." Marissa pointed out.

"That's what you remember? You remember seeing a animal?" Jeremy asked, wondering what exactly she did remember.

Marissa thought about his question then said,"actually I don't remember the actually attack. I mean I remember going outside, I remember calling Tyler then I woke up in the hospital and the doctor told me I had been bit by a animal before I passed out again."

"But you don't remember seeing who, I mean what, bit you?" Jeremy asked.

"No, but I guess it was another mountain lion or something." Marissa answered, then asked,"I mean what else could it be?"

Jeremy looked at her and thought about if he should tell her the truth. After being attacked by a vampire, she deserved to know the truth, but was now the right time to tell her or should he wait until a better time? Was there even a right time to tell someone about that?

While in thought, he ran a hand through his hair, but he still wasn't sure what to do yet. Fortunately for him, before he could make up his mind, he heard his phone ringing. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and saw that it was Anna calling. He told himself he would call her back once he left the hospital, then slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked over at Marissa, who was watching him, waiting on him to say something.

"I heard Tyler's been here to visit." Jeremy said, deciding it was best to change the subject for now. "Are you two back together now?" He asked.

"Yeah." Marissa answered nervously, then added,"I know you hate Tyler and I know you think it's a huge mistake to get back together with him but..."

"Hey, it's ok." Jeremy said, interrupting her then added,"as long as you're happy Ris, that's all I care about. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, I can see now that he does care about you."

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked him confused.

"When he couldn't get in touch with you on the phone or get in touch with anyone else to see if you were ok, he called me." Jeremy said, then added,"he knew if anyone knew where you were it would be me, at least I should have knew that, but I let you down."

"Jer, I told you, it wasn't your fault." Marissa said slowly, hoping to get through to him. She hating seeing him beat himself up over this.

Jeremy opened his mouth to argue with her, but before he could, he heard his phone beep, letting him know he had a voice mail message. He figured it was a message from Anna and ignored it. Marissa didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but wonder who had called him and now left him a message. She also found herself wondering where Jeremy actually was during the pageant. Even though she would never blame him for not being there, she still wondered what was more important to him at that moment.

"Where were you?" Marissa asked him quietly.

"What?" Jeremy asked, confused.

"During the pageant, where were you?" Marissa asked again.

"I was talking to Anna." Jeremy confessed. Even though he enjoyed talking to Anna then, he still felt bad for not being there for Marissa. Although he was with Anna now and he did really like her, Marissa would always have his heart. She was his dream girl and he would always love her, even if she never knew it.

"I thought you two weren't talking." Marissa said surprised.

"We had a long talk and got some things cleared up and now we're uh, we're together." Jeremy admitted shyly.

"Well congratulations then." Marissa said bitterly, feeling angry at the thought of Jeremy being with Anna. Although she wasn't sure why it bothered her, sure she didn't trust Anna, but she should be happy for him, the way he's happy for her and Tyler. But not today, today she couldn't be happy for him, she was attacked by a animal last night and left for dead while he was hooking up with the new girl. He's her best friend, he should be there for her, not Anna. She knew she was being bratty, but she couldn't stop the jealousy or anger that took over and it become worse when she heard his phone beep again. She had a good feeling who the message was from. Stupid new girl Anna.

Marissa folded her arms across her chest then snapped,"are you going to check that or not?"

"What?" Jeremy asked confused about her sudden change of mood.

"Your phone. Check it. It's bugging me." Marissa said slowly.

"It's ok, it's just Anna. I'll check it later." Jeremy explained, then he shot her a smile, hoping she would smile back.

"No, check it now. Wouldn't want to keep Anna waiting." Marissa said harshly.

"I'm here with you Rissa. I want to be here. I wanted to check on you." Jeremy pointed out, then added,'I'll see Anna later."

"You can go to your girlfriend now. You're forgiven and don't have to feel guilty anymore, I'm fine." Marissa said.

"That's not why I'm here and you know it. You're my best friend and I was worried about you." Jeremy tried to explain, as he stood up.

"I told you, I'm fine and now I'm sleepy." Marissa said, as she rolled over with her back toward him, not wanting to see him any longer.

"What is your problem?" Jeremy asked, still feeling confused and even a little anger at her sudden change. He couldn't understand why she seemed like she was pissed at him all of a sudden.

"Nothing, I told you I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." Marissa said with her head turned to look at him, when she was done, she turned her head back around and laid it down on the pillow.

"Rissa..."

"Bye Jeremy." Marissa snapped, interrupting him.

Jeremy opened and shut his mouth, unsure about what to say to her. He thought about the conversation they just had in his mind, trying to figure out what he said or did to upset her but was coming up blank. Maybe she was just tired, she had always gotten cranky whenever she was tired. Maybe after she left the hospital and got to sleep in her own bed she would cheer up. He watched her back as she slowly breathed in and out for a few seconds before walking closer to the bed. Assuming she was asleep, he leaned down and lightly kissed the top of her head before straighten up and walking to the door.

Jeremy opened the door then paused, turning around to look at her and said,"I promise I won't let anyone hurt you again."

With that promise in mind, he exited the room. He would do whatever he could to keep her safe, he would never forgive himself if she got caught in middle of all the vampire drama. He had to protect her and that's exactly what he was going to do.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I hope you all liked this chapter though. There wasn't anything in the episode I could use for Rissa so I just had to wing it lol. Since Rissa is still in the dark about vampires there isn't much for her toward the end of this season, but at least we are closer to season two lol, and since she'll find out about everything then I will be able to use her more in all the drama. I can't wait! Thank you all for reading and/or adding the story. Big thanks to Nina the Keyblader Mistress, roses and violets, shippolove844, Rebekah M, pollywallytron, DayDreamer1212, Erudessa-gabrielle, Sage Londyn, Emmettluver2010, wizziewoo123, Maya95, OhBeClever, JennyLynn2012, Cheshirecat2012, grapejuice101 and all the Guests who reviewed. It makes me so happy to know people still like this story cause I still love writing it and I was starting to worry people were not reading it, but now I see that they are, so thank you all for that! _

_I also wanted to tell you all that I started a collab with my good friend Sage Londyn. It's a vampire diaries story called 'Fire and Ice', you can find the link for it on my profile. I hope some of you will check it out. There is only one chapter so far, but we have a lot of great things planned for it. You should also check out her stories while you're there. She has a lot of amazing stories :) You can also check out my polyvore account, link is also on my profile, I have made some banners for this story and for 'Fire and Ice'. Sage Londyn also has a account on polyvore where she has made banners for the story as well. Thank you and happy reading :)_

_._


	22. Isobel:Part 1

**Isobel~Part 1**

* * *

><p>After spending another night in the hospital, Marissa was finally released and able to go home. She stayed home from school for a couple of days while her neck continued to heal and she got all of her strength back. While she was out of school, Caroline had kept her up to date on all the gossip and brought her any school work she had missed, then Tyler would visit her after school to do homework together, even if they ended up making out more then doing homework, after all they did have a lot of making up to do after being apart for a week.<p>

By the end of the week things were finally returning to normal and she was slowly able to put the horrible animal attack behind her, even if she did still have a occasionally nightmare, she was still feeling great and was not going to let it get her down. She was even jumping right in to help Caroline design and build the 'Miss Mystic Falls' float for the upcoming Founder's Day parade.

"Ok, so, what are your plans for the float?" Marissa asked Caroline, as the two sisters and Bonnie sat at a table together one day after school to go over float ideas.

"Yes, show us." Bonnie added.

"Let's reference last years Miss Mystic float." Caroline said, as she typed on her laptop to search for pictures of last years float. Once she found a picture she said,"this is what they did last year", as she turned the laptop around to show Marissa and Bonnie the picture then added,"and this is exactly what we don't want to do."

Marissa wrinkled up her nose in disgust as Bonnie said,"ew! So what are we doing?"

"Southern classic elegance." Caroline answered with a smile.

"Gone with the Wind?" Marissa asked her.

"How did you know?" Caroline asked back.

"Well, one cause I know you and two, cause you channel Scarlett, daily." Marissa answered with a laugh.

"It's true." Bonnie added with a small laugh of her own.

After the three girls laughter died down, Caroline glanced around then asked,"where's Elena? She's supposed to be helping."

"I don't know." Bonnie answered with a small shrug, hoping neither girl would question her any further. She knew they had to notice the way she had been distancing herself from Elena recently but she knew she couldn't talk about it, there was no way to explain everything and keep the whole vampire thing a secret. But she should have known the Forbes sister would not just let it go.

Marissa looked at her sister, who was sitting across from her, both of them thinking the same thing, before she turned her head to look at Bonnie sitting beside her and asked,"ok what is going on with you two?"

"What?" Bonnie asked, acting confused.

"Don't play dumb. You and Elena are fighting. Spill!" Caroline added.

"It's nothing." Bonnie lied.

"It's not nothing." Caroline argued, hoping her friend would open up, but when she realized Bonnie wasn't going to say anything, she continued,"you know this whole float is supposed to be about friends creating something together and everyone is fighting. You and Elena are on the outs and I don't like it! And I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

"And don't forget Tyler and Matt. They are still not talking." Marissa added sadly, as she glanced over at her boyfriend, who was on the other side of the room. "Or maybe not." She said, as she watched Tyler say something to Matt. She hoped this was the start of them working things out. She and the other two girls silently watched, then she sighed when she saw Matt shake his head then walk away.

"Yep, they still hate each other." Caroline pointed out.

"I'm going to go talk to Ty." Marissa announced, as she stood up from the table, wanting to go check on him. Before walking away though, she looked at Caroline and asked,"is that ok?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Me and Bon will finish the planning." Caroline answered.

"Thanks." Marissa said with a relieved smile, as she grabbed her book bag then made her way over to Tyler.

As soon as Tyler saw her heading toward him, he instantly felt all his stress and problems melt away. Even after dating for a few months, she still had a calming effect on him, which with his bad temper was a good thing. She had a way of balancing him out.

"Hey." Marissa said, as she approached him. She reached forward to grab one of his hands, intertwining her fingers with his, then asked,"are you ok?"

"I am now." Tyler answered, as he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her toward him for a tender kiss.

After the kiss, Marissa shot him a loving smile, then asked,"what happened just now? With the Matt thing."

"I tried to talk to him, but he's still pissed at me." Tyler answered with a disappointed look on his face. He hated that his best friend was mad at him, even if he did deserve it for kissing his mother.

"Maybe he just needs some more time." Marissa suggested.

"I know he has a right to be pissed me at, but I just wished he would forgive me. I mean, you forgave me so in time he can to right?" Tyler asked. As she nodded her head with a small smile, he looked at her closely then asked,"you do forgive me right?"

"Yeah I forgive, but it doesn't mean I forgot. It takes time Ty." Marissa explained.

"I know. I'm sorry." Tyler said softly, regretting what he did. He should have never got drunk and kissed Kelly, if he had the night to do over, he never would have done it. He hated knowing he hurt Marissa and Matt as much as he did, he just hoped they both could forgive him one day.

"So what kind of float is your History class building?" Marissa asked him, changing the subject.

"We're recreating the battle of Willow Creek." Tyler answered then added,"Mr. Saltzman put me in charge of production design."

"That's great Ty! I'm so proud of you." Marissa said happily, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug.

"Yeah, well, I don't know why he picked me. I'll probably just screw it up or something." Tyler added. Sure he loved to draw, but he never saw himself as talented and was feeling very worried about the whole thing.

"Don't say that. You're going to do great, I just know it. You are incredibly talented and obviously Mr. Saltzman sees that too or he wouldn't have picked you." Marissa pointed out, hoping to put him at ease.

Tyler smiled and even blushed a little at her comment, he wasn't really use to someone praising him the way she does. He continued to smile at her as he pulled her toward him again and asked,"incredibly talented huh?"

"Yep. Incredibly talented." Marissa said again, as she nodded her head with a smile.

"Anything else?" Tyler asked, as he held her close.

Marissa pretended to think about it for a second, as she wrapped her arms around his neck then said,"hm, let's see... well, you're incredibly cute and you can be incredibly sweet. When you want to be, of course."

"Just don't let anyone about that one. That's our little secret." Tyler joked.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Can't ruin your precious reputation." Marissa joked back.

"Exactly." Tyler agreed with a laugh, as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers.

As his lips moved against hers, he felt his heart racing like always. The things she did to him was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He had it bad for her, he loved her, now he just had to tell her, which made his heart race even more. He had never told a girl those three little words before and as much as he couldn't wait to tell her, he was also terrified to say them. He was pretty sure she felt the same way, although after all the times he has hurt her, he wouldn't blame her if she didn't, still he wasn't sure if he could handle the rejection if she didn't.

After the kiss, Marissa noticed the expression on his face, like he had a lot on his mind, she laid a hand on his cheek then said,"hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking." Tyler answered.

"About what?" Marissa asked.

"About you... about us." Tyler said, as he tried to work up the nerves to just say it.

"All good things I hope." Marissa said, as she wrapped her arms around him and smiled up at him..

"I... there's something I want to say to you." Tyler said, as he took a step back from her and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't think he had ever been this nervous before in his life.

"Ok... what?" Marissa asked. She felt her heart beating against her chest as she waited for him to answer, the longer he took, the more nervous she become. What did he have to tell her? Was it good, bad or what? She just hoped it was good, hearing about him cheating on her was bad enough, she didn't think she could handle anything bad again. She honestly didn't think her heart could handle it.

"I... I uh... what I wanted to say was..." Tyler being to say, silently cussing at himself for being so scared. He had never stuttered this much before in his life. _'Come on man, just spit it out. Just say it.'_ He thought to himself.

"Tyler, are you ok?" Marissa asked. She was really starting to worry and didn't think she could wait any longer to find out what he had to say.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. No need to worry." Tyler said, as he gave her a smile. He could tell he was starting to freak her out and the last thing he wanted to do was worry here, this was a big moment for them and he didn't want to screw it up.

"Well what did you have to tell me?" Marissa asked him.

Tyler took a step toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, but instead of saying anything, he glanced over her head at all the other students walking around, suddenly remembering where they were, they were still at school. He couldn't tell her how he felt now, not in a public place like school with everyone walking around.

_'Now is not the time.'_ He thought to himself, talking himself out of it. He would tell her later, no need to rush it right?

"Tyler?" Marissa asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He turned his head back to look at her and dropped his hands from her shoulders. As he took a step back he cleared his throat then said,"let's go out tonight."

"What?" Marissa said, as she lowered her eyebrows in confusion and added, "that's the thing you needed to tell me? You want to go out tonight?"

"Yeah." Tyler said, feeling bad for lying to her and for chickening out.

"Ok, yeah. We'll go out tonight." Marissa said, still feeling a little confused.

"I'm sorry for freaking you out, but everything is ok. I promise." He said sincerely, as he shot her a apologetic smile.

"Ok." Marissa mumbled, hoping he was right.

"See you tonight." Tyler said, as he gave her a quick kiss before walking away. He couldn't believe how much of a wimp he was being. He didn't know why he was making this such a big deal. He couldn't help but feel angry with himself, as he continued to walk away.

Marissa continued to watch him walk away with a confused expression on her face. Even if he said everything was ok, she could tell something was on his mind, she just hoped he opened up to her tonight and not push her away like he use to, she thought they were pass that.

Once Tyler was gone from the crowded room, she shook her head then turned around to walk away, but instead she ran, literally, into Jeremy.

Jeremy quickly grabbed onto her arms to keep her from falling to the floor. Even after he knew she wasn't going to fall, he still kept ahold of her arms as he looked at her and asked,"hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Marissa answered, as she removed her arms from his hand and took a step back.

The two friends looked at each other, neither one really knowing what to say first. She felt guilty for how she treated him when he came to see her in the hospital and he felt guilty for not visiting her since then. Finally after a few seconds of silence, they both opened their mouths to speak at the same time.

"I'm sorry ... you go first... no, you go first." They said together, before they started to laugh at each other and just like that, everything was forgiven between them.

Marissa rushed forward to wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him, as she said,"I'm so sorry Jer. I didn't mean to act like such a bitch that night at the hospital."

"No you had every right to be mad. I never should have let you out of my sight." Jeremy said back, as he wrapped one arm around her waist to hold her tight and rested his other hand on the back of her head. He held her tight in his arms for a few more moments before loosening his grip.

"No I told you, the attack wasn't your fault." Marissa argued, as she took a small step back to look at him, but kept her arms around his neck.

"I'm also sorry I didn't visit you anymore since that night in the hospital, but I knew you were pissed at me and I wanted to give you time to cool off." Jeremy said, as he looked at her.

"I wasn't pissed at you, I was just being stupid. I shouldn't have acted like a brat cause you were talking to Anna. I know how much you like her and I should have been more supportive." Marissa said back, then she gave him a small smile as she asked,"do you forgive me?"

"You know I do. I could never stay mad at you." Jeremy answered with a smile, as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He had always hated it when they fight and he didn't think there was anything she could do that would ever make him not forgive her.

Marissa shot him a relieved smile as she leaned forward to hug him again. Like him, she hated when they fought, he was her best friend and she would hate to lose him from her life. With a smile still on her face, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as she said,"I've got your back and you got mine."

"Always." Jeremy promised, as he kissed the top of her head.

The two stood still for a moment, just enjoying the fact that things were good between them again, before they took a step back to look at each other with a genuine smile on their faces. Finally Jeremy cleared his throat then asked,"so is everything really ok? You looked confused and worried earlier."

"It's nothing. Tyler was acting a little strange, but he says everything is ok." Marissa answered with a shrug.

"I hope everything is ok." Jeremy said. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt again.

"Really?" Marissa asked surprised.

"Yeah. I told you Ris, all I want is for you to be happy, even if it is with Tyler." Jeremy said honestly.

"Thanks." Marissa said smiling, then asked,"how are things with Anna?"

"I actually haven't talked to her lately. I've been calling and texting but she hasn't gotten back to me. I'm a little worried about her." Jeremy answered.

"Oh wow, I'm sorry Jer." Marissa said sincerely, then added,"if I ever see her, I'll let you know."

"Thanks." Jeremy said, smiling.

As she smiled back at him, he couldn't stop all his old feelings for her from rushing back. No matter how much he tried to move on, he knew he would never get over Marissa. She would forever have his heart.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" Marissa asked, as she subconsciously rubbed her face, worried that something was on it.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how much I miss you. Things have been different this year and we haven't been able to hang out like we use to." Jeremy said. He wasn't really lying, that thought was on his mind too, but he didn't want to tell her about his feeling for her, that was something best left a secret.

"I know. I've been a pretty terrible friend lately." Marissa said, feeling bad, then added,"why don't we hang out tomorrow? Before the float building thing?"

"Sounds good." Jeremy said.

"Great." Marissa said back, then she looked over his shoulder to see Caroline waving her hand, motioning her to come over so they could leave. She looked back at Jeremy then said,"I got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow."

After telling each other 'bye', Marissa rushed over to Caroline and followed her to the parking lot. She was excited about hanging with Jeremy tomorrow, like him, she had really missed her best friend, but before that, she had her date with Tyler tonight. As Tyler entered her mind, she thought back to the way he was acting earlier and hoped everything was ok. After their short break and being apart from each other, she knew she loved him, even if she had never said the words to him and she didn't think she could handle losing him again and she couldn't help but fear maybe he was growing tired of her and was wanting to break up. What if that was what tonight was about, him letting her down gently. She shook her head at her own thoughts, she had to stop thinking about all of the 'what ifs' before she drove herself crazy. She would just have to try to not think about it until her date tonight. She could do that right?

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

She could not do it. For the rest of the day, she continued to think of different scenarios, each one worse then the other. The only thing they all had in common was they all ended the same, with him breaking her heart and leaving her. She tried again to push all the thoughts from her head as she changed into a dark tank top then added a sheer blouse on top that buttoned up and had a small belt that wrapped around the waist and tied in the front. She paired that with a pair of blue jeans and wedges. She took her time fixing her hair and make-up, keeping herself busy until the door bell rang. When Caroline called out to her, telling her Tyler was there. She took a deep breath then stood up from the bench in front the vanity mirror she had been sitting in front of, before making her way into the living room. She tuned out Caroline and Tyler as they made small talk, then before she knew it, she and Tyler were in his car heading for their date, wherever it was, she had honestly never asked since she had other things on her mind.

While he drove down the road, Tyler would peek over at a silent Marissa every so often, he wasn't use to her being so quiet. He hoped she was feeling ok for his surprise tonight. After messing up earlier today and not telling her how he felt, he decided he would do it tonight. Since his parents were out of town for the night, he figured he would surprise her with dinner and a movie at his house. It might not have been the most romantic idea, but he was trying.

Marissa continued to stay quiet for the whole trip to his house. They were almost there when he looked over at her and asked,"you ok?"

"What happened before? What were you going to say?" Marissa blurted out. If he was going to dump her, she wanted him to do it now, not wait until the end, that would just hurt worst.

"What?" Tyler asked confused at her out burst.

"Today at school. You were going to say something and then you froze up." Marissa explained, then asked again,"what were you going to say?"

Tyler took a deep breath as he pulled into the driveway, this was not how he wanted to tell her. He wanted to surprise her first and tell her the little speech he had worked on all evening before he said those three little words. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before saying,"let's wait until we get inside. We'll talk then."

Marissa, misunderstanding the comment, felt tears fill her eyes as she looked down at her lap. She took a few deep breaths and tried to keep the tears away as she heard him open his car door then shut up after he exited the car. A few seconds later, he opened her door and waited for her to step out, but instead she lifted her head and looked up at him. She held her head high, not wanting him to see how upset she was, as she said simply, "no."

"No what?" Tyler asked, confused at her mood.

"No. Let's not wait until we are inside." Marissa said, as she finally exited the car. She slammed the car door shut then turned around to face him before she added,"whatever you have to say, say it here."

"Rissa, just come inside with me. Everything will make sense I promise." Tyler pleaded with her, as he lightly grabbed her hand and tried to led her inside.

"No, Tyler." Marissa called out, as she come to a stop and pulled her hand away then said,"if you're going to break up with me, then just do it here."

"What? Break up with you? Who said anything about breaking up?" Tyler asked, feeling even more confused.

Marissa ignored his question as she said,"there is no need to sugarcoat it or dance around it. If that is what you want, even if I don't agree with it, then just do it."

"Rissa, I don't want to break up with you." Tyler said, as he stepped toward her.

Marissa felt a tear fall down her face as she continued without hearing a word he said,"just say it Ty, cause the suspense is killing me."

"Fine, I'll say it." Tyler said, as he walked even closer to her.

"Please do, cause I can't take it anymore." Marissa cried out, expecting the worst.

"I love you." Tyler finally blurted out, taking her by surprise.

"What?" Marissa breathed out. Out of all the things she thought he would say, that was the last thing on the list.

Tyler reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks before resting his hand on her face. He smiled as he said again,"I love you."

"But I... I thought you were dumping me." Marissa said in shock.

"No. Why would I do that?" Tyler asked with a laugh, then added,"like I told you that night when we first kissed, I can't walk away from you Rissa. You are the only girl I have ever loved and the only girl I want."

"Wow." Marissa whispered like she did that night. The night they first kissed after he made a speech about how he wanted to be better with her.

"You ready to go in now?" Tyler asked her, as he nodded his head toward the front door. He couldn't wait to show her what he had waiting for her inside, if she thought she was speechless before, she was really going to be once she walked inside or at least he hoped.

"Let's go." Marissa said, as she reached out to grab one of his hands.

Tyler squeezed her hand once and smiled at her, before turning around and opening the front door to led her inside. They walked into the foyer together and she felt her mouth drop open at the sight in front of her. On every surface in the small room were dozen and dozens of white roses. There were even roses on the floor against the wall all around the room, as well as rose petals leading from the front door and off to the left side, leading into the living room.

Marissa walked to the middle of the room and turned around in a small circle as she looked at all the beautiful roses. She looked over at Tyler with a huge grin on her face as she walked over toward him and asked,"what is all of this?"

"This is for you. After everything I have put you through and everything that has happened, you deserve this Rissa. You deserve nothing but the best and I want to give you that." Tyler answered.

Marissa continued to smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck before leaning forward and pressing her lips against his for a sweet kiss. After the kiss she rested her forehead against his as she said,"this is so beautiful. Thank you."

"Wait till you see the rest." Tyler said, smiling.

"There is more?" Marissa asked.

"Mm-hm." Tyler answered, as he nodded his head toward the rose petals on the floor.

"Where does that go?" Marissa asked.

"Follow it and find out." Tyler answered.

Marissa gave him another kiss then begin to follow the petals, which took her into the living room. When she walked inside the room, she was speechless for the third time tonight. The living room was also cover in roses, as well as white twinkling lights lit up all around the room, which was the only lights on, giving off a soft glow. The petals led her toward the middle of the room, where he had a blanket out for a indoor picnic, complete with tons of pillows for comfort and a bag of food from the Grill to eat. He even had the tv turned on with one of her favorite movies in the DVD player, ready to be played while they ate.

"Wow." Marissa mumbled happily, as she glanced around the room. She rushed back over to Tyler, jumping into his arms with excitement, she couldn't believe he would do something like this for her. This was all for her and she couldn't thank him enough.

"You are.. God ... you are so amazing Ty. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Marissa called out, giving him a kiss in between each 'thank you'.

"I'm glad you like it. I was worried it was to much." Tyler admitted.

"I love it, it's perfect." Marissa said, then added,"I wish there was some way I could pay you back."

"You don't have to pay me back Rissa. I'm not expecting anything back, I just wanted to do this for you cause I love you." Tyler said. The more he said those words, the easier they came out, he couldn't believe he was so nervous to say them before. Now it was like they just came out naturally.

Marissa smiled at his words as she pressed her lips against his for a sweet kiss again, but what start as sweet quickly begin to heat up. Wanting to be closer to him, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her body as tightly to his as she could as they continued to kiss.

Tyler couldn't stop a moan from escaping from his lips when she begin to nibble on his bottom lip and grab on to the back of his hair. As much as he was enjoying all of this and loving her being so close to him, he knew he needed to put a stop to things before he wouldn't be able to stop. He wasn't about to push her to do something before she was ready. No matter how much he wanted to do it. He wanted her so bad he couldn't hardly stand it, but he couldn't do that to her, he didn't want to be 'that guy' to her. She meant way more to him then that.

"Whoa, whoa, Ris. We need to slow down here." Tyler mumbled, as he unwrapped her legs from around him and helped place her feet back on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Marissa asked confused, trying to catch her breath.

"We just need to stop." Tyler said.

"Don't you want me?" Marissa asked softly, feeling rejected.

Tyler stepped closer to her and rested his hands on either side of her face as he said,"I do want you Rissa. You have no idea how much I want you, but that's not what tonight is about. There is plenty of time for that. I'm not trying to rush you. I promised you we would do this when you are ready and I meant that."

"And what if I am ready?" Marissa whispered so quietly he almost didn't hear it, but he did.

He looked at her with a shocked expression on his face, unsure about what to say. She took a step away from him and untied the belt around her waist then slowly begin to unbutton the sheer blouse she was wearing. Once the shirt was completely unbutton she removed it, leaving her in a dark fitted tank top.

Tyler silently watched her and fought the urge to rush toward her to take her right here and right now on the floor, but he knew if he did that and pushed her, he would never forgive himself. He continued to watch her, never taking his eyes off of her, as she walked over to him. She didn't say a word as she reached out and grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. She cautiously laid one hand flat on his bare skin above the waist band of his jeans, then laid the other hand beside it before glancing up to look at him. She took a deep breath then slowly released it as she begin to slowly move her hands up his stomach and up to his chest. She could feel her hands shaking but she never stopped until he laid his hands on top of hers.

"Rissa, you don't have to do this." Tyler said softly.

"I know, but I want to." Marissa said back, then added,"and do you know why I want to?"

"Why?" Tyler asked.

"Cause I am 100% completely in love with you Tyler Lockwood and I want you more than I have ever wanted anything in my whole life. This is what I want, you are what I want." Marissa said smiling.

"I love you too Rissa Forbes." Tyler said, smiling back.

"Good. Now kiss me." Marissa whispered, as she begin to move her hands again until she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Tyler continued to smile as he lowered his head to press his lips against her for a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his as they slowly begin to lower themselves to the floor on the blanket and pillows. The movie and food were forgotten as he showed her exactly how much he loves her for the rest of the night.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_Marissa glanced around the dark woods with a confused expression on her face. She instantly recognized the woods, it was the woods near the Founder's Hall, where she had been attacked by a wild animal. She had no idea how she got there and was even more confused when she noticed she had on the black dress again that she was wearing at the pageant. _

_She quickly spun around when she heard a noise behind her, but didn't see anyone or anything. _

_"Tyler?" Marissa called out quietly, wondering where he was. He was right beside her when they finally made it to his bedroom and fell asleep, but now she back in the woods, alone and confused. _

_When she felt a breath of warm air on the back of her neck, she spun around again and gasped in surprise when she saw someone standing in the shadows. She breathed out a sigh of relief when the person stepped toward her and she realized it was Stefan. _

_"Stefan? What are you doing here? What's going on?" Marissa asked confused, as she walked toward him. _

_Stefan opened his mouth, but not to say anything, it was to show her the sharp fangs in his mouth. She gasped in surprise and took a quick step back, almost tripping on a rock. In a flash Stefan was in front of her and before she could scream he bit into her neck, drinking her blood. _

_She balled her hands into a fist and pushed against his chest, trying to get him away from her before she passed out from lack of blood. Luckily for her, she was finally able to push him away and without a second thought, she turned around and begin to run away, screaming out at the top of her lungs. She ran through the woods as fast as she could, taking a chance to look behind her every so often. She skid to a stop and sighed with relief when she saw Elena standing in front of her. _

_"Elena! Thank God! We got to go. We got to get out of here. He's going to kill us. Stefan is going to kill us." Marissa cried out. _

_The dark headed girl in front of her gave her a evil smile before saying,"Stefan isn't the one you need to worry about. But don't worry, you're about to become one of us." _

_Before Marissa could say or do anything, she felt someone grab her from behind, causing her to scream out loud. She knew it had to be Stefan. She looked at Elena, hoping she would help her, instead she flashed her her fangs before rushing toward her. _

"Rissa, Rissa!" Tyler yelled, hoping to wake her up from whatever bad dream she must have been having.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Marissa screamed, as she fought against Tyler, thinking it was Stefan.

"Baby, it's only me. You're ok. Open your eyes." Tyler pleaded with her.

Marissa let out a blood curdling scream as she quickly sat up in bed. She snapped her eyes open and took several deep breaths as she looked around the unfamiliar room. She turned her head to the side to see Tyler beside her in his bed with a worried look on his face.

"Are you ok?" Tyler asked, as he pushed the sweat soaked hair from her face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry." Marissa whispered, feeling embarrassed. Right after the attack she had dreamed of Stefan attacking her, although she wasn't sure why she always dreamed that it was Stefan, although the Elena part was different. Why would Stefan or Elena attack her? And why would she dream about them being vampires? Vampires don't exist.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm just worried about you. Are you sure you're ok?" Tyler asked her, as he wrapped a arm around her shoulders, hoping to comfort her.

As Marissa nodded her head, he asked,"do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I just want you to hold me, if that's ok?" Marissa asked.

Tyler nodded his head, answering her question, as he laid back on the bed. Once he was comfortable he gently pulled her down toward him so she could lay on his bare chest. While her head was resting on his chest, she closed her eyes and just listened to his heart beat, causing her body to slowly relax and push the nightmares away.

"Better?" Tyler softly asked, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Better." Marissa whispered back.

"Good." Tyler said, as he lightly kissed the top of her head. He kept his lips on her head as he added,"everything is going to be ok."

Marissa nodded her head at his comment, she hoped he was right, she really hoped everything would be ok, but she couldn't shake this feeling that something bad was coming and nothing would ever be the same again.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it was a lot of fluff, but I figured Tyler and Rissa needed some sweet moments before all the end of the season drama happens. I tried not to make Tyler to sappy, but I wanted to show a sweeter side so hopefully it's not to much. Also I think the Isobel episode took place all in one day, but for this story I'm breaking it up into two days and two chapters. Hope that is ok =) Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also thank you so much to grapejuice101, pollywallytron, millie1708, Chella8181, roses and violets, JennyLynn2012, shippolove844, Maya95, Emmettluver2010, TiffanyHart98, er123, OhBeClever, Sage Londyn, Writteninthestars08, Fruitlessberry, Leandraviv, Shannon the Original, 98Treasure, TeamGilbert, masqueraderose9 and Bradly93 for reviewing. I'm pretty sure that is the most reviews on one chapter this story has ever got, so thank you all once again. You have no idea how happy it makes me to known people are loving this story cause it is one of my favorites to write. I hope you all will continue to love it cause I never want to stop writing Rissa. I can't wait to hear what you all think of this chapter. Thank you and happy reading! _

_Oh and I am now on tumblr if anyone wants to follow me. You can find the link for that on my profile, as well as other links to other sites I belong to. Feel free to stalk me =) _


	23. Isobel:Part 2

**Isobel~Part 2**

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, Marissa slowly opened her eyes and felt a smile appear on her lips when she came face to face with a sleeping Tyler. She laid still and watched him slowly breath in and out for a few seconds, enjoying the quiet moment. Although, she did have to fight the urge to reach out and softly caress his face, feeling the need to just touch him. She had to know if all of this was real, sometimes it all seemed like a dream. She had been dreaming for years of being with Tyler and now her dreams had came true.<p>

Not wanting to wake him, she carefully laid her hand beside his hand, which was resting on his pillow. She linked her pinky finger with his and chuckled to herself when he lightly snored before rolling from his side to his back. For a moment she was worried she had woke him up, until she heard his light breathing, letting her know he was still asleep.

With a smile still on her face, she rolled over onto her back and stared up at his ceiling as the night before replayed in her mind. The night went exactly how she had always hoped her first time would be. Everything was perfect, Tyler was perfect. He was patient, kind and gentle during the whole thing, which really put her at ease. She started out extremely nervous, but he quickly made her feel comfortable to the point where it didn't even feel like her first time anymore. Every time he touched or caressed her, it felt like he had been doing it for years, everything felt right in that moment and made her fall even more in love with him, if that was even possible.

As great as the night before was, the only thing she wished she could change was the terrible nightmare she had afterwards. She had really thought the nightmares were over and she could get on with her life, but every time she had one, it reminded her of the animal attack and even though she couldn't remember the attack itself, she did remember how terrified she was and as dramatic as it was to think, she honestly thought she was going to die, just like Mr. Tanner several months ago when he too was attacked by a animal.

With the nightmare still fresh in her mind, she slowly slid out of bed with a eye on Tyler the whole time, making sure she didn't wake him up. She pulled down the dark color t-shirt he had let her borrow to sleep in over her underwear clad butt as she tip-toed across the bedroom floor to the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom.

After using the bathroom, she walked over the sink to wash her hands and splash cold water on her face, hoping to push the nightmare out of her mind. She still couldn't understand why she kept dreaming about Stefan attacking her, he had always been nothing but nice to her, so why would she even dream about him hurting her? Then there was Elena.

That was the first time Elena had appeared in the nightmare and she knew Elena would never hurt her, they were as close as family. Plus there was the whole vampire thing, why would she dream that both Elena and Stefan were vampires when vampires didn't even exist.

Not knowing the answer to any of her own questions, she reached out to grab the hand towel hanging by the sink to wipe off her hands and face, telling herself it was all a dream and to put it out of her mind. Then after hanging the towel back up, she made her way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom again, where she saw a awake Tyler, with his back exposed toward her, slipping on a pair of blue jeans over his black boxers. She paused for a moment and watched him, even if she was still shook up from the bad dream, she couldn't help but check him out. She grinned then bit her bottom lip as she watched his back muscles move as he zipped up his pants. He was extremely hot and he was all hers.

With his pants on and buttoned, he turned around to see her standing behind him. He couldn't help but grin at her when the night before came rushing back to him, remembering the things they did and how it made him feel. It was amazing, she was amazing and he couldn't help but fall even more in love with her.

"Hey, there you are. I was about to go look for you, I thought maybe you went downstairs or something." Tyler said, with a smile still on his face.

"I was in the bathroom." Marissa said, as she pointed toward the room behind her, then added,"I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Nah, I never knew you left." Tyler said, as he walked over to her. Once he was in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as he said,"although, I got to say I didn't like waking up and seeing you gone from my bed."

"Well I can't stay in your bed all day, Lockwood." Marissa said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck with a smile on her face.

"Says who, Baby Forbes?" Tyler asked back, as he leaned forward and left light kisses on her jawline. He worked his way up to her ear before nibbling on it, causing her to giggle and playfully push him away.

"Although maybe staying in bed a little longer isn't such a bad idea." Marissa said, as she walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it, her legs tucked under her before adding,"I wouldn't mind getting a little more sleep."

"I slept pretty good." Tyler said, as he plopped down on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, then joked,"someone wore me out last night."

Marissa lowered her head and softly chuckled at his comment. She wished she could joke around about last night and be flirty the way he was, but the nightmare was still weighing heavily on her mind. When Tyler noticed the worried expression on her face as she continued to look down at the comforter on his bed, he became concern. After the big step they took last night, he thought she would be on top of the world the way he was right now. It was no secret that he had been with other girls before Marissa, but last night was the first time he actually made love to a girl, it was a big deal for him, for both of them and he couldn't understand why she looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Was she starting to regret last night or wished they had waited? He certainly hoped not.

"Hey, you ok?" Tyler asked, as he sat up and lightly grabbed one of her hands. She laced her fingers with his and held on tight to his hand as she looked up at him, a troubled expression still on her face.

When she didn't answer his question, he squeezed her hand then said softly,"I know last night was a big deal and you're probably trying to wrap your mind around it all, but just know, you're not alone. It was a big deal to me too, I never..."

"Experience that before." Marissa finished for him, thinking about when she woke up screaming in fear from her bad dream.

"No, never. I mean, not trying to upset you, but you know there have been others in my bed before, but what happened last night, I never experienced that." Tyler explained.

"Last night was... It was..." Tyler begin to say, trying to think of the right word to use to explain how it all made him feel. As he struggled to find the word, Marissa, still thinking of the nightmare, said the first word that popped in her head,"it was terrible."

Tyler felt his eyes widen in surprise, as he looked at her. He felt his mouth open and close a few times as he tried to think of something to say back to her comment. He couldn't believe his ears though, she thought last night was terrible? He quickly thought about the night in his mind, going over every detail, trying to figure out what was so terrible about it. Was he to rough with her? He tried to go as slow and gentle as he could, but maybe he should have done something differently. Maybe he should have let her be more in control, to feel more at ease and to feel comfortable about it all, although it wasn't like he ever pushed her into anything. He was the one who told her they needed to wait, but she insisted she was ready. It made no sense to him.

"What? Wait a minute! Terrible? It was terrible!" Tyler snapped. He knew he shouldn't let it bother him, but it did, a lot. Not like he was trying to be cocky but he knew he was good in bed, he had never had a girl complain before. They all had nothing but good things to say afterwards and not one girl had ever described it as 'terrible', so what the hell was the problem?

"Yes." Marissa answered, as she stood up from the bed and begin to pace across his bedroom floor. Then added,"it was terrible, horrible, just the worst thing ever and I hope I never have to experience that again."

"Wow, just wow." Tyler mumbled, he couldn't believe that something that felt so incredible to him, could be such a horrible experience to her.

"I'm sorry Ty, I know I probably shouldn't be talking about all of this with you." Marissa said, as she stopped pacing and looked over at him. After the amazing night they shared, she knew talking about her nightmare would just ruin it all, but she had to talk to someone about it and who better than her boyfriend, the man she loves and who loves her back.

"Hell don't let me stop you. If it was terrible, it was terrible." Tyler snapped, as he stood up. He took a couple of angry steps toward the dresser off to the side of his room and pulled open the second drawer to grab a clean t-shirt. "No need to lie to spare my feelings." He added, as he slammed the drawer shut.

Marissa looked at him with a confused expression on her face, she couldn't understand why he was getting so mad at her about this. It's not like she planned to have a bad dream and wake up screaming, but it happened and she didn't understand why she kept having it.

"I'm sorry Tyler." Marissa said sincerely.

"Whatever." Tyler mumbled, as he pulled the shirt over his head. Then added,"anything else you want to say about it? The pain? How long it lasted? Let's get it all out in the open now."

Marissa was still confused about his attitude toward her, but since he asked, she said,"it's not like it hurt, cause I didn't really feel it, it was just... it was scary, but thankfully it didn't last that long."

"Not that long? It lasted all night long and how the hell can you say you didn't feel anything?" Tyler asked angrily.

Marissa opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say a word, Tyler spoke up and said,"actually you know what? I don't want to hear anymore. Get dressed, I'm taking you home now."

"I'm sorry." Marissa apologized again, feeling tears in her eyes. She turned her head, not wanting him to see as she quickly wiped them away before turning back to face him then added,"if I had known talking about this nightmare would have upset you so much, I never would have said anything."

"As if terrible and horrible isn't bad enough, now you're calling it a nightmare? Unbelievable." Tyler mumbled, as he sat on the edge of his bed to put on his shoes.

"Well it was a nightmare. What else am I suppose to call it?" Marissa snapped, starting to get a little mad herself about the whole thing. She was just trying to be honest with him about the dream and he was acting like she was personally offending him.

After getting both shoes on, Tyler stood up with a sigh, he hated that they were snapping at each other. This was not how the next morning was suppose to go. He knew he should probably apologize and try to talk thing out, but damn it, he was to mad to do that right now, so instead of being the bigger man and simply saying 'sorry', he instead mumbled out a 'meet you downstairs' before turning around to leave the room.

Marissa mouth dropped open in shock as she watched him leave her alone in the bedroom. She still couldn't believe how furious he was at her right now and it was all because of a dumb dream about something she shouldn't even be afraid of. But she couldn't help but be afraid, dreaming about friends attacking you was terrifying and she was disappointed to know she couldn't talk to him about it.

As she wiped away a stray tear from her face, she bent down to pick up her clothes from the night before. She changed out of his t-shirt and put on the tank top, leaving the blouse off, then slipped into her blue jeans. Once dressed she grabbed her shoes then made her way downstairs with her head held high, not wanting him to see how upset she was at him, although she couldn't stop her eyes from watering when she saw all the white roses in the foyer, reminding her of the night before. She felt her heart swell when she thought about his sweet gesture, decorating the foyer and living room with roses and twinkling lights to tell her he loved her. It was a night she would never forget, of course their fight this morning was something she did want to forget.

At hearing her footsteps coming down the stairs, Tyler, who had been leaning against the front door, looked up from the floor to watch her as she got closer to him. Even though she was trying to appear brave, he didn't miss the look on her face before she turned her head to avoid his eyes. He felt guilt over take him and felt some of the anger he had been feeling before melt away. Even if his ego was crushed, he knew he needed to apologize and make things right. He always knew sex changed things, but he never knew it would change like this with them and he couldn't stand the idea of losing her again.

When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, she held on to the handrail as she lifted her right foot to slip on one of her shoes. As she went to lift her left foot, she was surprised when Tyler walked over toward her and wrapped a arm around her waist to help keep her steady as she slipped on her other shoe.

Once both shoes were on, she stood up straight and turned to face him, resting her hands on his shoulders, she wanted to say something, anything to make things right, but couldn't think of a word to say, luckily he spoke up and said,"look, I'm sorry for being a dick to you when you're just trying to be honest with me."

Marissa nodded her head, letting him know she accepted his apologize then said softly,"I just don't understand why you got so angry."

Tyler took a step back from her and took a deep breath as he ran a hand over his hair then said,"It's just shocking to hear you describe last night that way. Cause to me last night was..." He paused for a moment, feeling a little weird about being so open and honest, but continued to say,"God I can't believe I'm being such a chick here, but last night was amazing to me. In a way it was like my first time too, cause it was the first time I did that with a girl that I love and I had hoped the things I was feeling, were the same things you were feeling too but I guess I was wrong."

Marissa lowered her eyebrows in confusion at his comment, until she realized they had been talking about different things this whole time. While she had been talking about her nightmare, he had been talking about them having sex for the first time. She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing, but couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping her lips as she thought about the conversation they had earlier in his bedroom, no wonder he was getting angry, he thought she had been insulting him and what they did last night.

At hearing her giggle, Tyler looked over at her in surprise, he was trying to open up and she was laughing at him. He folded his arms across his chest, feeling anger overtake him again, as he snapped,"I'm glad you find this so funny."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you Ty." Marissa said, as another chuckle escaped. She took a deep breath to control her laughter then said,"I just realized we are not on the same page here. We're not even in the same book."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tyler asked confused.

"I was talking about the nightmare..." Marissa begin to say, until he interrupted her with a loud sigh. He was really getting tired of her referring to it as a 'nightmare'. He wasn't sure how much more his ego could take.

"Look, could we not call it that. I know last night wasn't enjoyable to you, you have made that feeling known, bluntly I might add, but you don't have to keep pointing that out. I heard you, it was terrible and horrible and blah blah." He snapped.

"No, Tyler, just listen to me." Marissa said, as she walked over toward him. She laid her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her as she said slowly,"I'm talking about the bad dream."

"What?" Tyler asked confused.

"The nightmare I had last night. The one you woke me up from. The one that caused me to scream out loud." Marissa listed out one by one, waiting for one of her comments to ring a bell and help him to remember.

Tyler continued to stare at her with a confused expression on his face until it finally clicked in his mind, then he said,"oh, right, your bad dream."

Marissa wrapped her arms around his neck and threw her head back as she laughed then said,"I can't believe you actually thought I was talking about ... you know."

"You're not a virgin anymore Rissa, no need to be all shy now. You can say the word sex." Tyler joked.

Marissa shook her head and chuckled at his comment as he wrapped his arms around her waist. As she continued to laugh, he slide one hand into her back pants pocket and pulled her closer toward him, taking her by surprise as she crashed into his hard chest. He slipped his other hand under her tank top then ran his hand up and down her back, feeling her soft skin and sending chills down to her toes. He removed the hand from her back pocket and grabbed the strap of the tank top she was wearing then moved it aside. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, but before she could utter a word, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. She bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning as he kissed across her shoulder and begin to lightly kiss and nibble on her neck.

"So what did you think of last night then?" Tyler asked softly, his lips still against her skin.

A quiet moan escaped her lips as he begin to nibble on her neck again. She took a deep breath, then slowly released it, trying to get ahold of her emotions before answering,"last night was-was amazing. It was... it was orgasmic."

Tyler lifted his head to look at her with a smirk on his face as he said,"orgasmic huh?"

"Orgasmic." Marissa said again, smiling.

"Good to know." Tyler said, as he leaned forward and gave her a sweet kiss.

After the kiss, he leaned back to look at her, happy to see a smile on her face and was even more happy to know he was the cause of that smile. But no matter how happy they were right now, he could tell deep down she was still frighten from her nightmare. He hated to see a look of fear on her face when there was nothing he could really do. He couldn't keep her nightmares away, although he wished he could, but he could at least be there for her and always try to protect her the best he could.

"So what was the whole nightmare about? Why did it have you so scared?" Tyler asked softly, as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It was- it was stupid." Marissa answered.

"Hey I know I was being a jerk before cause of the misunderstanding and it might seem like I don't want to hear about it, but I do Ris. I'm here for you babe." Tyler said, with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I know and I thank you for that. But you know, I don't even want to think about it anymore. It was a stupid nightmare that made no sense and will never happen." Marissa said, as she shook her head, trying to shake the horrible scene from her head. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how silly she was being. The dream didn't mean anything. It was a case of having a overactive imagination and still being shook up over the animal attack.

"You sure?" Tyler asked.

"I'm sure." Marissa answered, smiling.

"Ok, if you say so." Tyler said back, then asked,"hey, you want to go grab some lunch before I drop you off at home?"

"Lunch? What time is it?" Marissa asked, as she glanced around looking for a clock.

"It's almost twelve-thirty." Tyler answered, as he looked at his watch.

"Oh no! I was suppose to go hang out with Jeremy before we all meet up at school to work on the float." Marissa said, feeling bad for standing him up.

"It's ok, I can drop you off at Gilbert's house." Tyler suggested.

"Really?" Marissa asked, surprised he was so calm about her hanging out with Jeremy.

"He is your best friend." Tyler said, stating the obvious

"I know, but usually you're not so calm about that." Marissa pointed out.

"I know and I'm sorry about that." Tyler said sincerely, then added,"I'm trying to not let stupid things bother me and set me off like they use to. I trust you and I trust that nothing is going to happen."

As Marissa smiled at his comment, he added,"besides, Gilbert isn't all that bad."

"Wow. I never thought I would hear Tyler Lockwood say something nice about Jeremy Gilbert ever in my life." Marissa joked.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." Tyler said with a laugh, as he grabbed her hand and begin to walk toward the front door.

"Hey..." Marissa said, as she grabbed onto his arm to stop him. She waited until he turned his head to look at her then said,"thank you Ty. You and Jeremy are both so important to me and all I ever wanted was to have you both in my life without having to feel like I had to choose, so thank you for understanding."

Tyler nodded his head then said,"no problem, but I got to say I feel a little used here."

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked confused.

"After a night of mind blowing sex, now you're leaving me for another guy. Never thought you would be the hit it and run type, Rissa." Tyler joked.

"Very lame, Lockwood." Marissa said laughing.

Tyler laughed along with her, then took her by surprise when he leaned forward to pick her up off the ground and held her in his arms bridal style.

"You know you love me." Tyler said smiling.

"Yes I do. I do love you Tyler Lockwood." Marissa said, smiling back.

Tyler continued to smile at her words as he gave her a quick kiss. As long as he lived, he didn't think he would ever get tired of her saying those words to him. He never could understand before why someone would want to commit to only one person for the rest of their lives, but now he finally got it, cause he knew right now in this moment that he wanted her in his life forever no matter what obstacles stood in their way he would fight for her, he would fight for them.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After a quick stop at home to shower and change into a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt, Tyler dropped her off at Jeremy's house before making his way back home and cleaning up the house before his parents returned home.

As he drove away, she jogged up the porch stairs and rang the doorbell before taking a step back and waiting for the door to open. She didn't have to wait long until the door was opened by John.

"Hey Uncle John." Marissa said happily, as she walked into the house and hugged the older man.

"Hey Rissa. You here to see my nephew I assume." John said.

"Well him and my favorite Uncle of course." Marissa said with a smile.

"Ah you don't want to hang out with this old man." John said, as he wrapped a arm around her shoulders and begin to lead her toward the kitchen where Jeremy was, along with Jenna.

"You're not old Uncle John, besides I have always loved hanging out with you." Marissa said, as she hugged up to him during the walk.

"I would rather you hang out with my nephew though. Who knows what might happen." John said with a wink.

"Don't start, you know we are just friends." Marissa said back.

"You never know what the futures holds." John said quietly for only her to hear as they walked into the room where Jeremy was, right as he was hanging up the phone.

Marissa ignored John's comment as she heard Jenna ask Jeremy,"how is Anna? I like that girl, she has fire."

"I don't know. She won't return my calls." Jeremy answered sadly, then his face lit up when he saw Marissa walk into the room. She walked over to him and gave him a quick hug then said 'hey' to both him and Jenna.

"Girl trouble?" John asked Jeremy.

"No, no trouble. Anna just owes me a call, that's it." Jeremy answered.

"Is everything ok?" Marissa asked him. Anna might not be her favorite person, but she wanted Jeremy to be happy.

Jeremy shook his head and gave her a look, as if to say he would talk to her about it later. It was like the two had a conversation by looks alone, which was something they had always done, they could always tell what the other was thinking or feeling with a look. John caught the look between them and softly smiled to himself, he couldn't wait until the day the two decided to take their friendship a step further, but first he needed to get that murderous vampire out of his nephews life.

"Is that the girl that I saw you with at the founder's pageant? You two are getting hot and heavy. When was the last time you saw her?" John asked him.

"Why?" Jeremy asked feeling annoyed.

"I was just making conversation. No one else in this house likes me. You and Rissa are the only two who will talk to me." John pointed out, then added,"and you know you can talk to me right, especially if you need someone to talk to about girls."

"Oh please! I'm eating." Jenna said with a groan, as she turned to leave the kitchen.

"So seriously, how well do you know Anna?" John asked him.

"I know Anna extremely well." Jeremy said, meaning in more ways then one.

Marissa turned her head and quietly groaned at his comment. She didn't need to know what he and Anna do in their spare time and she also didn't need to feel sick to her stomach at the thought of Jeremy being with Anna. She should be happy for him, she was happy for him, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear about their relationship.

"I'm just going to go head up to your room..." Marissa said to Jeremy, then continued as she took a few steps back,"and let you two finish this talk alone."

"No it's ok Ris." Jeremy said, as he walked over toward her and took her hand to lead her out of the room. He shot John a look then said,"we're done here."

Without another word, the two teens walked out of the kitchen and made their way upstairs to Jeremy's bedroom. Once inside the room, Marissa made her way toward his bed and sat down, making herself comfortable, as Jeremy closed the door and turned to look at her. He turned his head to the side and continued to stare at her with a confused expression on his face.

"What? What is it?" Marissa asked, as she subconsciously wiped at her face.

"You look different." Jeremy stated, as he walked over to the bed and sat down in front of her. Looking at her even closely.

"What, no I don't." Marissa argued. For a moment she wondered if he could somehow tell that she had lost her virginity to Tyler last night, but knew there was no way he could tell that just by looking at her.

"Yeah you do." Jeremy said, as he turned his head from side to side, looking at her from every angle.

"Ok Jer you're starting to creep me out. Stop it." Marissa said, as she laid her hand over his eyes, forcing him to stop looking at her.

Jeremy laughed as he slapped her hand away then said,"I'm serious Ris. Something is different. Did you do something to your hair?"

"Yep, that's it." Marissa lied, then quickly changed the subject before he could ask anything else,"so what was that just now with you and Uncle John?"

"It's a long story." Jeremy said, as he waved off her concern.

"Come on Jer, talk to me." Marissa said, as she grabbed his hand and lightly squeezed it, letting him know she was there for him.

Jeremy took a deep breath then looked at her, debating if he should finally open up and tell her everything he had recently learned. He wanted to protect her from all things vampire, but he hated keeping things from her. They had always been open and honest with each other until recently and it was about time they started to be honest again.

"There's a lot going on lately that I haven't told you about and I'm sorry about that, I know we usually don't keep secrets from each other, but I just wanted to know more before I said anything." Jeremy begin to say.

"What are you talking about Jer? What's going on?" Marissa asked confused.

Jeremy ran a hand over his hair and took another deep breath as he tried to figure out the best way to explain everything. How do you tell your childhood friend that not only are vampires real, but there are in their little town without sounding crazy?

"What do you actually remember from your attack?" Jeremy asked her, taking her by surprise.

"What?" Marissa asked confused, then added,"what does my animal attack have to do with tension between you and Uncle John?"

"Believe it or not, it is all connected." Jeremy said vaguely.

"What does that even mean? Jeremy what the hell are you talking about?" Marissa asked, starting to get frustrated.

"Ok I don't know any way to tell you this other than just coming right out and saying it, so here goes..." Jeremy said, then looked at her with a serious expression as he added,"we have vampires."

"What?" Marissa called out in shock, as she stood up from the bed.

"Look I know this sounds crazy, but think about it Rissa." Jeremy said ,as he too stood up and walked over to her then added,"as long as we have lived here, there has never been this many animal attacks, then the Salvatores come to town and all of a sudden there are all of these attacks. I mean there was you, Mr. Tanner, Vicki and countless others."

"So wait, you're trying to say not only do we have vampires in town, but your sister's boyfriend, Stefan is one? Along with his brother?" Marissa asked, making sure she was understanding him right.

"Yes and they are not the only ones." Jeremy answered.

Marissa turned away from him and folded her arms across her chest as she remembered her nightmares. She begin to feel the fear she had felt during the dream and shook her head, it couldn't be true. What Jeremy was saying could not be true. Her attack was not a vampire, it was animal. She saw a animal... didn't she?

Jeremy walked over to her and laid his hands on her shoulders, he waited until she turned her head to look at him then asked,"you didn't see a animal did you? It was something else wasn't it?"

"No. No you are wrong Jer, it was a animal." Marissa said, hoping to convince him and herself.

"You told me yourself in the hospital that you don't remember the actual attack. You never saw what bit you." Jeremy pointed out.

"But it was a animal. It had to be a animal or that means ... " Marissa begin to say then let her voice trail off as she turned her head away. Not wanting to tell him about the nightmares, it would just give him more proof to his crazy claim.

"What? Do you remember something?" Jeremy asked, as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"No cause there is nothing to remember. It was a stupid animal Jer." Marissa snapped, as she pulled away from him.

"I'm not trying to upset you by bringing this up, I just need you to believe me." Jeremy said.

"Well I don't. This is crazy. Vampires don't exist." Marissa pointed out.

"That's what I thought to until Anna ... "

"Anna?" Marissa asked, interrupting him. Then before he could answer she scoffed then mumbled,"of course, why am I not surprised."

"What does that mean?" Jeremy asked, confused.

"I knew Anna was trouble and now she has put this crazy idea in your head. God! I can't believe you actually believe her." Marissa said.

"That's not what this is about Rissa." Jeremy argued.

"Of course it is Jer. You have the worst taste in girls I have ever seen and every time I try to warn you, you never listen." Marissa said.

"Oh like your taste in guys is better?" Jeremy asked sarcastically, then added,"how many times did I try to warn you about Tyler? And guess what... he did hurt you. You want me to trust you, but you never trust me. What happened to having each others back. I got your back and you got mine, remember that Ris?"

"I do have your back Jer. Just not when it comes to your crazy ass girlfriends." Marissa snapped, then added,"and don't even bring Tyler into any of this. What we have is so completely different from your crazed druggy hook ups. Tyler loves me, Jer and I love him too."

"You two had sex." Jeremy stated, everything starting to make sense now.

Marissa mouth dropped open in shock, she couldn't believe he could tell that just by looking at her. She didn't confirm or deny his comment, instead she watched as his expression went from shock, to heartbroken to angry all at once.

"I knew it. I knew there was something different about you and that's it right?" Jeremy asked, then added before she could answer,"wow, I never thought you would be _that_ girl Ris."

"What girl?" Marissa asked confused.

"The kind who gives away her virginity just cause some asshole jock says he loves her." Jeremy answered, then added,"you are nothing but another notch on his belt."

"You know what, Jer? Next time you see me, don't talk to me. Matter of fact, don't talk to me every again." Marissa snapped, as she rushed past him and left the bedroom, heartbroken that he would say something like that to her.

Once she was gone, Jeremy groaned in frustration as he slapped his hands on top of his head and pulled at his hair. He didn't mean to say the things he said, but he couldn't help but feel jealous at finding out she had sex with Tyler. He knew it was none of his business and she could be with whoever she wanted, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop loving her. He had always secretly hoped she and Tyler wouldn't last, but now hearing they were in love and she slept with him broke his heart and to make matters worst, now he has drove her right out of his life. After everything he said he would be surprised if she ever forgave him and talked to him again. He had already lost so much in his young life and now he had lost his best friend, he didn't think he could feel any lower than that.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After running from the Gilbert house, Marissa walked down the sidewalk toward the high school. She knew Caroline would be worried about her walking around town alone and she knew she could call her or even Tyler to come get her, but since the school wasn't that far away she wanted to walk. She needed time to process everything that just happened. She and Jeremy have had bad fights before, but nothing like this and the whole thing just came out of nowhere. Why was he going on about vampires? Then there were the things he said about Tyler. As much as she wished he and Tyler could be friends, she knew it would never happened, but she had at least hoped they could get along and lately it seemed like Jeremy was coming around, but now this?

Several minutes later, she arrived at the school where most of the school had turned out to work on their floats. She made her way over to the 'Miss Mystic Falls' float to meet up with Caroline and everyone else who was assigned or had volunteered to work on it.

Caroline instantly realized something was on her mind, but when she tried to question her about it, Marissa told her she was fine and asked her to put her to work, which is what Caroline did, which was why Marissa was now was using a staple gun to staple fabric along the bottom of the trailer they were using to keep everything underneath hidden from the crowd.

Marissa wasn't sure how long she had been working on it, but knew it had been awhile since she had started and by now the rest of the students had showed up to work on their floats, even Jeremy. She saw him across the parking lot and stopped what she was doing as their eyes met. She saw the depressed look on his face and knew his expression matched her. She hated when they fought and even though he was wrong for what he said, for a moment she thought about going over to him, but instead she stayed where she was and continued to stare at him while he stared at her.

A few seconds later, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, causing her to gasp in surprise until she realized it was Tyler. He leaned forward to kiss the side of her neck before mumbling a friendly greeting in her ear.

Marissa rested her hand on his arm as she turned her head to shot him a smile, but like Caroline earlier, he noticed by the look on her face that something was wrong. He loosened his hold on her and walked around to face her before asking,"everything ok?"

"Yeah. Just being one of Caroline's busy bees." Marissa answered, as she held up the staple gun.

"You sure?" Tyler asked, then added,"cause Gilbert looks like he has lost his best friend and you got the same look on your face too. Did something happen earlier?"

"We had a fight." Marissa said softly, as she lowered her head.

"What did he do?" Tyler asked angrily. He hated to see her upset and if Gilbert did anything to make her upset, he was going to have to deal with him.

"It was ... it was stupid and I'm sure we'll work it out." Marissa said, not wanting to go into the details. Besides she hoped she was right, she hoped they would work it out at some point.

"You sure? I can go kick his ass if you want." Tyler pointed out.

"No. You are definitely not going to do that." Marissa said, as she shot him a look. Letting him know she was serious.

"Ok fine, I won't kick his ass. Besides I was mostly kidding." Tyler said with a laugh, then added as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him,"I just wanted to cheer my girl up."

Marissa smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck then said,"well thank you for trying."

Tyler smiled back as he leaned forward to give her a sweet kiss, then he leaned back and said,"I know what will really cheer you up."

"What?" Marissa asked.

"I got a call from my parents earlier and they decided to spend another night away, so I got the house to myself again." Tyler explained, then added,"you want to come over again, we can do some more orgasmic things."

"Oh God." Marissa moaned, then asked,"you're not going to let that word go are you?"

Tyler chuckled as he shook his head then said,"I like that word. I've never had a girl describe my bedroom skills as orgasmic before."

"I am never using that word again, the last thing you need is your ego stroked anymore." Marissa joked.

"Well feel free to stroke something else then." Tyler joked back, as he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Ew Ty! You are such a pervert."." Marissa said with a laugh, as she laid her hands on his chest and playfully pushed him away.

"Hey you had no problem stroking it last night." Tyler joked.

"Tyler!" Marissa called out, as she slapped his arm and glanced around to make sure noone overheard him.

Tyler couldn't help but laugh at her as her face begin to turn a deep shade of red. He pulled her toward him again and gave her a quick kiss then said,"but seriously, you want to come over tonight? We can grab some take-out and watch a movie or something."

"Sounds good to me." Marissa said smiling, as she leaned forward to kiss him.

After the kiss, she pulled back until her lips were only inches from his then whispered,"and who knows, maybe we will do more orgasmic things."

"That's my girl." Tyler said with a grin as he rested his forehead against hers.

Marissa continued to smile at him until she looked over his shoulders and saw her sister talking to a dark headed woman. She was old enough to be a parent, but she had never seen the woman before or at least she didn't think she had, but there was something familiar about her. But regardless of who she was, she could tell Caroline was having a animated conversation with the woman like they were the best of friends.

"Hey, who is that woman?" Marissa asked Tyler, as she nodded her head toward Caroline and the woman, who were still talking to each other.

Tyler turned around to look at her then said,"I don't know. But I saw her earlier at the grill with Elena when I stopped by for lunch."

"Weird. Maybe she's a family member of Elena's or something." Marissa wondered out loud.

As the strange woman, who happened to be Isobel, walked away from Caroline, Marissa looked at Tyler then said,"I'm going to go talk to Care, find out who she is or it's going to bug me all night."

"What am I suppose to do then?" Tyler asked.

"Go build a float." Marissa said, as she placed the staple gun in his hand. She looked behind her and saw Matt working on a float, then turned back to look at Tyler and said,"actually, why don't you go talk to Matt?"

"Cause he still hates me." Tyler sighed.

"Well at least go try. It can't hurt to try." Marissa pointed out.

"Ok. But I am hanging on to this." Tyler said, as he nodded his head toward the staple gun, then added,"cause if he gets his hands on it, he'll use it against me. I just know it."

"That's fine." Marissa said with a laugh, then added as she pushed him toward the float,"just go make up with your friend."

Once Tyler was gone, Marissa made her way over toward her sister and called out a 'hey'.

"Hey Ris." Caroline said happily.

"Who was that woman?" Marissa asked, as she nodded her head toward the direction the woman had walked off to.

"What woman?" Caroline asked confused.

"The woman you were just talking to." Marissa answered.

"I was talking to someone?" Caroline asked, feeling even more confused.

"Yes Care. You were _just_ talking to her. Like two seconds before I walked up." Marissa explained.

Caroline lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she tried to remember who she was just talking to, but she honestly couldn't remember talking to someone. It was like the last few minutes were a blur. She remembered walking away from the float with the plan to talk to someone, but she couldn't remember who she was going to talk to or the actual conversation, then the next thing she remembered was Marissa walking up to her.

The two sisters glanced around, looking for the woman. Marissa saw her talking to Elena then she finally remembered who she was. Well she didn't know the woman's name but she remembered years ago when John had visited, she had seen a picture of that woman in his wallet and she had asked him about her. He said she was someone he use to know, but Marissa could always tell the woman was important to him, it just hurt him to much to talk about her.

Marissa turned her head to look at Caroline. She opened her mouth to tell her what she had just remembered but before she could say a word, she heard a loud noise followed by Caroline yelling at Matt's name with a worried expression on her face.

Marissa quickly spun around and felt her eyes widen when she saw that the trailer had fallen on Matt's arm. She reached out and grabbed Caroline's hand before the two sister ran toward the trailer as Tyler, Stefan and a few other guys were lifting up the heavy trailer to free Matt's arm.

As Caroline fell to her knees beside Matt, Stefan called out to Marissa to call for a ambulance before he rushed off, causing her to quickly pull out her cell phone from her front pants pocket to call for help.

"They the ambulance should be here in about fifteen to twenty minutes." Marissa said, as she ended the call and made her way over to Caroline and Matt.

"What? That's to long. He needs help now." Caroline cried out.

"I have my car. I can take him to the hospital." Tyler suggested, as he stood beside Marissa.

"Caroline can take me " Matt said, not wanting any help from his former friend.

"I didn't drive." Caroline pointed out.

"I'll wait. Its fine " Matt said feeling annoyed, as he held onto his arm and groaned in pain.

"What? Matt that is crazy, you are not waiting. You need to see a doctor." Marissa called out.

"I agree. Tyler is driving. End of story." Caroline snapped. Both girls were tired of seeing their boyfriends fight, especially at a time like this.

"Fine." Matt finally agreed.

Caroline looked up at Tyler, who was still standing by Marissa, then called out."go!"

"I'll bring my car around." Tyler said to the trio before rushing off to the parking lot.

While Tyler was gone, Caroline was still sitting beside Matt on the ground as she tried to comfort him the best she could. Marissa stood off to the side as she waited for Tyler to come back with his car. She had only been waiting a few seconds, when a frantic Elena, along with Stefan, rushed over to Marissa, asking if she had seen Jeremy.

"I saw him earlier." Marissa answered, then asked when she saw the worried expression on her face,"why? Is he ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it's nothing. We just got separated, but he probably just went home." Elena said, as she shot the younger girl a small smile, hoping she bought her lie.

"Are you sure everything is ok Elena?" Marissa asked. Regardless of what happened earlier during the fight with Jeremy, he was still her best friend and if something was wrong she wanted to know.

"I'm sure." Elena answered.

"Everything will be fine, I promise. Don't worry about a thing Rissa." Stefan added, as he wrapped a arm around Elena's shoulders, hoping to comfort her.

"Update me on Matt ok?" Elena asked.

"I will." Marissa promised, as the two rushed off.

Marissa watched them as they ran through the crowds, both looking very worried about something. She had a feeling they were being less than honest with her and she couldn't help but worry about Jeremy. If Elena couldn't find him, then where could he be? But before she could think about it all to much, she heard Tyler run up behind her.

"Hey, come on, we got to go." Tyler said, as he lightly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.

Marissa looked in the direction Elena and Stefan had ran off to one last time, then turned around to run behind Tyler as they, along with Caroline helped Matt to the car to drive him to the hospital.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

A couple of hours later, while Matt and Caroline, who refused to leave her boyfriend's side, were seeing a doctor, Tyler and Marissa were sitting in a waiting room until Tyler offered to go grab them all something to eat, since the hospital food there was something noone should ever have to eat, leaving Marissa to wonder the halls of the hospital alone, deep in thought.

She walked down a hall or two until everything suddenly hit her, everything bad that had happened recently. The people they had all lost, like Miranda and Grayson, Mr. Tanner, Vicki, Bonnie's grams and countless others who they didn't know who had went missing or turned up dead. Jeremy was right about one thing, there had been a lot more attacks lately, hers included, but she still couldn't bring herself to believe it could be vampires. Vampires belonged in horror movies, not in real life and definitely not in their small town. Besides _if_ Jeremy was right, then did that mean her nightmares were true. Did that mean that Stefan actually did attack her and Elena is somehow involved with it all too?

Marissa felt her heart begin to race with fear when she remembered the terrible dream again. She leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor in the middle of a hall as she took several deep breaths, trying to control her emotions but was failing to do so as tears begin to rain down her face and she begin to panic.

_"No, no. It can't be true."_ She thought to herself over and over again, as she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Regardless of what was true or what wasn't, one thing she knew was true was her attack. Something attacked her, something could have killed her. Something bad is going on out there and now she was fighting with Jeremy, which she hated and Matt was hurt. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in the hall crying, when she heard footsteps approaching. She took a deep breath and quickly wiped away her tears, not wanting to be caught breaking down by a total stranger. She rested her chin on her knee and looked down at the floor, hoping whoever it was would keep walking and pass her by until she heard the person call out her name and she realized it was Caroline.

"Care?" Marissa whimpered, as she lifted up her head to look down the hallway.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you ... " Caroline begin to say, as she walked toward her sister. When she got closer and saw her tear stained face, she gasped in surprise and raced over to her,"Rissa, what's wrong?"

"Everything." Marissa cried, then added,"people are dying. I could have died. Matt is hurt. Me and Jeremy got into the worst fight ever and he probably hates me now. Everything is so different. It changed to quick and to fast and I'm just trying to keep up, but everything is just out of control and nothing makes sense anymore and I'm so scared and I..."

"Shh, it's ok." Caroline said, interrupting her, as she sat down on the floor beside Marissa. She wrapped a arm around her shoulder, pulling her toward her as Marissa continued to cry.

"I know a lot has happened lately and some of it, like losing people we love is going to take time. Your animal attack is going to take time too. I know it had to be traumatic cause it was traumatic for us too. None of us knew what happened or if you were going to be ok. But you will be ok, in time, it's going to take time Rissa." Caroline explained softly, as she ran a hand up and down her back, hoping to comfort her, then asked,"are you still having nightmares about it?"

Marissa nodded her head then rested her head on Caroline's shoulders. The next night, after being released from the hospital, is when the dreams had started and that first night she had started to scream, like she had done the night before with Tyler, and Caroline had rushed to her room to wake her. Although Caroline shouldn't have been surprised that she would have nightmares, Marissa usually had them after something scary happened, like after watching a scary movie or during a bad storm, so after going though something traumatic like a animal attack, Caroline wasn't surprised that her overactive imagination would cause her to have nightmares.

"It'll get better. Everything will get better." Caroline promised, as she hugged her sister close. Then hoping to make her feel better she added,"you'll be ok and Matt's going to be ok too. The doctor is putting a cast on him and he'll be good as new soon."

"That's good." Marissa said quietly, then raised her head when she remembered something,"oh crap, I promised Elena I would call her to update her."

"It's ok, I already told her." Caroline said, as she pulled Marissa's head back down to rest on her shoulder.

"You did?" Marissa asked.

"Mm-hm." Caroline answered, as she ran her fingers though Marissa's hair, the way a mother would to calm down a child. Then she added,"well actually I talked to Jeremy cause Elena didn't answer her phone. But he said he'll tell her."

"You talked to Jer. How is he?" Marissa asked, as she quickly lifted her head to look at her.

"He sounded ok. Why? What's going on?" Caroline asked confused. Then she remembered a comment Marissa said earlier and asked,"wait, you said you and Jeremy had a fight, right? What happened?"

Marissa took a deep breath then slowly released it as she answered,"it was a stupid fight. Apparently Anna has put some crazy ideas in his head and he was trying to tell me about them and we got into it. Then he found out something about me and Tyler and said some things that pissed me off so I just left. I told him to never talk to me again and you know how Jeremy is, he's hard-headed..."

"Like you." Caroline pointed out, interrupting her.

"Ha-ha." Marissa said sarcastically, then added,"but seriously, if I tell him to never talk to me, then he won't talk to me until I talk to him first. But what he said really hurt me and was out of line."

"What did he say?" Caroline asked.

Marissa bit her lower lip and looked down at the floor, avoiding Caroline's glance. In order to tell her what Jeremy said, she would have to tell her about losing her virginity to Tyler and it wasn't that she didn't want to tell her big sister about it, it was just this was not the time or place to discuss it.

"Rissa, what did he say? And what did he find out about you and Tyler?" Caroline asked confused. As she watched Marissa avoid looking at her and her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, it all clicked for Caroline and she gasped out loud before saying,"oh my God! You had sex with Tyler!"

Marissa's head shot up as she looked at Caroline in surprise then asked,"how does everyone know that? Is it wrote on the bathroom stall at school or something?"

"No, but it's kind of wrote all over your face." Caroline answered with a laugh, then added,"you just look, I dunno, you look..."

"Let me guess... different?" Marissa asked, interrupting her.

"Yeah, you just look different." Caroline said.

"That's what Jeremy said too." Marissa added.

"So I take it he wasn't happy when he found out?" Caroline guessed.

"No. He said he couldn't believe I was the type of girl to jump in bed with a guy cause he said he loved me." Marissa explained.

"Wait... Tyler said he loves you?" Caroline asked surprised, although she shouldn't have been surprised. It was plain to see by anyone that Tyler had fallen hard for Marissa.

"Yeah, he told me last night and then we... you know." Marissa answered, then explained,"but that's not the reason why I did it though. I didn't do it just cause he said he loves me, I did it cause I love him too and I can't imagine loving anyone more than I love him. So rather we last forever or not, I want to be able to look back and know that my first time was with someone I truly trust and love and someone who I never want to forget as long as I live."

"Sounds like you were ready to take that step. Some girls do it way before they are ready and end up regretting it, but I don't think that is going to happen to you. I think anyone can see the love you and Tyler have for each other and I couldn't be happier for you." Caroline said, smiling, then added,"just promise me, you will always be careful."

"I promise." Marissa said, then added,"each and every time we did it last night, we were careful."

"Ew! I did not need to know that Ris." Caroline said, as she wrinkled up her nose, causing Marissa to laugh.

"I was kidding." Marissa said, then added with another laugh,"mostly."

"Rissa, seriously. Enough about your sex life." Caroline said, as she stood up from the floor.

Marissa laughed again as she too stood up from the floor then stood beside her sister. Caroline reached forward to wipe the few tears left on Marissa's face from before then smiled as she said,"it's good to see you laughing again. I hate seeing my baby sister cry."

"Thanks Care." Marissa said, as she leaned forward to hug her then added,"seriously thank you. I think with everything happening lately it just all hit me at once and I really felt like I couldn't handle anything else, but talking with you really helped."

"You know I am always here for you Ris, no matter what." Caroline said, as she hugged her back.

After the hug, the two released each other and took a small step back. Caroline could tell something was still bothering her and if she had to guess, it was the fight with Jeremy. She knew how important Jeremy was to her and how much it bothered Marissa anytime they fought, but they always worked things out in the end and things returned to normal. She just had to remind her of that.

"Hey don't worry about the fight with Jeremy. You two will work things out like you always do." Caroline said, then added,"I know you don't think it's true, but Jeremy's been in love with you for years and I'm sure hearing about you and Tyler upset him, but he'll come around. I bet deep down he just wants you to be happy."

Marissa shook her head, this wasn't the first time Caroline had suggested that Jeremy was in love with her and probably wouldn't be the last time either. But she and Jeremy had always been just friends, he had never said or did anything to suggest otherwise, yet Caroline and even Elena and a few others felt like Jeremy was in love with her, but she just couldn't see it.

"I don't think that's it." Marissa said, then added,"it's something else. Something that I don't think I can get on board with because if I start believing the things he said... no, you know what? I can't. I can't believe the things he was saying today cause if I do ..."

"What?" Caroline asked, interrupting her.

"If what he believes is true, then I'm scared everything that has happened up until now is just the beginning. I fear things are going to get a lot worse before they get better." Marissa answered vaguely with a worried expression on her face.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- hello everyone! I am sorry I didn't update sooner, I know it's been awhile. I had some things going on in real life, then I had planned to finish this chapter and update it yesterday but had car drama and never got around to writing. Grr! If it's not one thing it's another lol. Anyway I hope this long chapter makes up for it though. I can't believe just one more episode then I can finally start writing season two! I am so excited! Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding this story to their favorites. Also big thanks to grapejuice101, Leandraviv, roses and violets, er123, RosePotter123, Sage Londyn, Bradly93, TeamGilbert, shippolove844, Guest, OhBeClever, maliumpkinss and Candyluver2121 for reviewing. _

_Don't forget I am on Tumblr now. Just the other day I posted two spoilers for this chapter. I plan to start posting more sneak peeks of whatever story and chapter I am working on at the time, so follow me or let me know you are looking at them so I'll know if people actually are looking at them or not =) I also make sets for this story and others on polyvore, you can follow me on there too. Links to both of those are on my profile. If the links don't work or you can't find it, message me and I'll send it too you. _

_Also please check out the collab I am writing with my good friend Sage Londyn. The story is called 'Fire and Ice'. The story is on her page or you can find the link for it on my profile. If any of you have been reviewing it already, thank you so much! Also thank you to anyone who is reading it, but please don't be a silent reader. Let us know if you like it or not cause we are really excited about it and have some great things planned for it. Thank you! _


	24. Founder's Day:Part 1

**Founder's Day~Part 1**

* * *

><p>A few days later, Marissa was standing in Caroline's bedroom as she helped her get ready for the big day. It was finally the day of the Founder's Day parade and as the new 'Miss Mystic Falls', Caroline was going to be riding on the float with Matt and the rest of the Founder's court, she of course wanted to look her best.<p>

"Are you sure my hair looks ok? Maybe I should wear it up instead... I don't know, what do you think?" Caroline asked nervously, as she looked at herself again in the mirror.

"You look beautiful Care. Your hair looks great." Marissa answered, as she reached forward and pulled at one of Caroline's curls and watched it bounce back.

"What about my make-up?" Caroline asked, as she laid a hand on her cheek.

"Your make-up is flawless." Marissa answered.

"What about my dress? Should I had went with a different dress?" Caroline asked, but before Marissa could say a word, she gasp as a thought hit her,"oh my God, what am I going to wear with it? I was so worried about the dress, hair and shoes I forgot all about jewelry. Oh my God, this is terrible, this is just the worst thing that could have happened."

"Care, calm down. Seriously you look amazing." Marissa said with a smile, hoping to put her sister at ease. Once she had her sisters attention she added,"and as far as what you're going to wear with the dress. I had a idea."

"What?" Caroline asked.

Marissa held up a finger, telling her to wait for a minute as she left the bedroom and crossed the hall to go into her own bedroom. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer, pulling out a small black box that contained the diamond earrings that she had let Caroline borrow a few weeks earlier for the pageant, then made her way back to Caroline's bedroom.

Marissa handed the box to Caroline then said,"I was thinking you could wear those again."

"Really?" Caroline asked, smiling.

"Mm-hm." Marissa said, as she nodded her head, then added,"you were wearing them when you won, so maybe they are good luck and it wouldn't hurt to have a little luck on your side today."

"You think I need some good luck today?" Caroline asked nervously.

"Well yeah. I mean you are going to be riding on a float that we designed and built. You know us Forbes are not that handy. The whole thing could crash." Marissa joked.

"Funny, ha-ha." Caroline said sarcastically, as she begin to put the earrings on, then added,"you really had me worried there for a second."

"You worry to much. Today is going to be great. You get to ride in a parade with your handsome boyfriend by your side as the whole town watches, what could possible go wrong?" Marissa asked, then added,"this is the day you have been waiting for, the day you have been dreaming about since you were a little girl. You have always wanted to be 'Miss Mystic Falls' and ride on a big float and now the day is here. So enjoy it ok?"

"Ok." Caroline said, as she took a deep breath to calm her nervous. She knew her sister was right, this was her big day and everything was going to be ok.

"Thank you." Caroline added with a grateful smile once she had calmed down.

"You're welcome." Marissa said back, glad she was able to help, then added,"now let's get you in your dress."

Before stepping into the gown, Caroline put on a petticoat to make the bottom of the dress fluff out, as well as a corset. She turned around and held on to the bedpost as Marissa laced up the corset. Next she stepped into the gown and waited as Marissa pulled it closed in the back and begin to button it up.

"Wow. This dress is so tight and heavy, I don't know if I'll be able to breath in it." Caroline whined.

"Suck it up. You'll be ok." Marissa joked, then added,"besides just think of your idol Scarlett. This is the kind of things she wore."

"Very true and if Miss O'Hara can do it, so can I." Caroline added with a laugh.

Marissa laughed back as she clipped the last button then said,"ok there you go. You are done."

"So how do I look?" Caroline asked, as she turned around and held up her hands in a pose, causing her skirt to swish around.

"Like the prettiest Miss Mystic Falls this town has ever seen." Marissa answered honestly.

Caroline smiled as she curtsied at Marissa, thanking her for her kind words before turning around and reached out to grab the pair of high heels she was planning on wearing with the dress. With the shoes in hand, she turned back around to face her sister and held out the shoes, wanting Marissa's opinion. Marissa nodded her head, letting her know it was a good choice, then while Caroline begin to put on her shoes, she walked over to the vanity and picked up Caroline's hair brush.

As she brushed her hair, she made sure to avoid looking at her own reflection in the mirror. She didn't want to see the bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep she had been having since her attack. The nightmares were not as frequent, but they were still there as well as the fear. She still feared that maybe Jeremy was right, maybe there was something dangerous running around town hurting people, she still wasn't sure if it was vampires or not.

"So how are you doing?" Caroline asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

"I'm ok." Marissa answered with a shrug, not wanting to get into any of her confusing thoughts today. No today was all about Caroline, not her own drama.

"You sure? I just worry with everything today, the parade and all, might remind you of the pageant and your attack. If it gets to be to much for you, I want you to talk to me or someone, ok? You don't need to hold it all in again or you could have another break down." Caroline pointed out, reminding her of when she broke down at the hospital recently after Matt was hurt.

"I know. That was stupid on my part. There was just so much going on at once and I just couldn't deal with it." Marissa explained.

"And are you now? Dealing with everything?" Caroline asked, then added,"are you still having the nightmares?"

"Sometimes, but not as much as I was so I'm dealing with things better or at least trying to." Marissa answered.

"And what about the Jeremy thing?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing new there to report." Marissa answered with a sigh, as she sat down on the small stool in front of the vanity table, then added,"he hasn't called, texted or anything."

"Well you did tell him not to talk to you Ris." Caroline pointed out.

"Yeah I know." Marissa mumbled.

"Give it time. I'm sure you two will work things out soon. You two have been friends way to long to just throw everything away." Caroline pointed out.

"I hope you're right. I just... I dunno, I just worry that we are drifting apart. It feels like all we have done lately is fight. Maybe while growing up, we were also growing in different directions. We like different things and believe in different things now." Marissa wondered out loud, then added sadly,"maybe the bond we use to have is gone."

"Do you really believe that?" Caroline asked, surprised at her comment.

Marissa shrugged as tears filled her eyes then said,"I don't want to. I don't want to lose him from my life. I don't want to let him go, but I'm not sure if there is anything still there to hang on to."

Caroline shook her head then said,"that's crazy. You two have had a connection since birth, you're soul mates, that doesn't just go away."

"Maybe soul mates don't exist." Marissa said quietly, then thought to herself_,__"just like vampires"_

"Nope, I don't believe that. It doesn't matter who you fall in love with or who he dates, you two are meant to be best friends, you're meant to be in each others lives." Caroline said, then added,"I've known that ever since you two were babies. When you would share a crib and anytime you got fussy he would hold your hand, calming you down. Or the time he gave you that frog cause you always wanted a pet. Oh, or like the time you two were in the woods and you fell in the water. Not only did Jeremy jump in to save you, but he actually gave you the shirt off of his back so you wouldn't have to wear your wet clothes all the way home."

"I remember that." Marissa said with a soft smile on her face, as she remembered that day. They were twelve at the time and had been hanging out by the waterfall. It was the day he told her he was ready to get his first kiss and he wanted her to be the one he kissed, it would be something the two could share and would always remember. The truth was she didn't fall into the water, they had decided to go swimming, but they knew their parents would have grounded them if they knew they went swimming there without a adult. Then in the middle of swimming is when he had suggested they kissed. At first she thought he was crazy, there was no way they could kiss each other. They had grew up together, they were like brother and sister, it would be weird, then she finally gave in. She realized he was right, being each others first kiss would be something they would always remember and it was. To this day she still remembered what it felt like to kiss him all those years ago and it was nothing like kissing a brother. It was a nice first kiss from her very best friend and she wouldn't want it any other way.

"You can't tell me that after everything you two have done and how much you have been through that he's not your soul mate." Caroline pointed out, then added,"you two have something I have always been jealous of."

"What? Why?" Marissa asked confused, then added,"you have life long friendships too. With Elena, Bonnie and me."

"Yeah but none of my friendships are anything like yours and Jeremy's. Even us, we're sisters and close friends, but we still don't have that bond the way you and Jeremy does and I've always been envious of that. The way you two are together and the way you two are always there for each other, it's indescribable and it's been a amazing thing to watch all of these years."

"We have had a lot of great times." Marissa said softly with a small smile on her face, as she remembered everything they had been though. All the good and the bad, he had always been her rock when she needed something to hang on to or her shoulder to cry on. Like when her parents were going through their problems and would constantly fight, she would run to Jeremy and he had always been there for her, no questions asked. Even the day her dad left, as soon as he walked out the door, Jeremy was climbing in her window and held her as she cried. He had always been a big part of her life and honestly she wasn't sure if she even knew how to go on without him.

"Just talk to him. I know what he said hurt you and you have ever reason to be upset with him, but don't let this ruin your friendship. It's not worth it." Caroline said, then added,"besides I'm sure he feels bad about what he said and he's probably missing you just as much as you are missing him, but since you told him not to talk to you, he's giving you space."

Marissa thought about what she said, then nodded her head as she said,"ok, I'll talk to him. But after all the Founder's Day stuff. Today is a fun day, no drama. Plus it's your day."

"That is correct." Caroline said with a laugh, then added,"but I'm glad you're going to talk to him cause I hate seeing you like this. I like it when my baby sister is happy."

"And I like it when my big sister is happy." Marissa said back with a smile.

Caroline threw her arms around Marissa and hugged her tight as she said,"I love you Ris."

"I love you too Care." Marissa said, then added,"I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't worry cause you'll never have to find that out." Caroline said, as they continued to hug each other.

When they heard a knock at the bedroom door, the two sisters took a step back as Caroline called out 'come in'. A few seconds later, the door opened then Liz poked her head inside and looked at her two daughters, she could tell by the looks on their faces that she had interrupted a moment between them.

"Is everything ok?" Liz asked them, as she pushed the door open wider and walked into the room.

"No, Mom, everything is fine. We're just getting ready for the parade." Caroline answered.

Liz could tell something was bothering one, if not both girls but decided not to push things. She had learned a long time ago if she tried to push them for answers it only pushed them further away from her, she was just glad the two girls had each other to confide in.

"Well you two look very beautiful." Liz said with a proud smile on her face.

"Thanks Mom." Marissa said for the both of them.

"I was about to head into work. Do you two need a ride to the parade?" Liz asked them.

"Actually that would be great. I'm not sure if I could have got behind the wheel of my car in this dress." Caroline pointed out.

"Great. I'll meet you two at the car, but hurry up, I need to get my deputies prepared for the parade today and for the mayors speech at the square tonight." Liz said to them.

"Of course you do. The town needs the sheriff." Caroline said sarcastically. She wasn't surprised that her mom was putting work before seeing her in the parade.

"But once I am done I'm going to stand with my daughter to watch my other daughter in the parade." Liz announced, taking both girls by surprise. It had been years since she had been to a parade, since she and Bill, the girl's father, divorced.

"Really?" Marissa asked with a shocked expression on her face.

"Yes. After I am done at the station, I'll meet you in the square." Liz said.

"That'll be great." Marissa said smiling.

Liz smiled back then said,"I'll meet you two outside."

"Be there in a second." Caroline said, as she turned around to grab a duffel bag from her closet, which had a change of clothes in it for later. By the time she turned back around, their mom had left the room, leaving her alone with Marissa.

"Do you really think Mom is going to show up for the parade?" Marissa asked with a hopeful smile. Even if her mom did annoy her from time to time, she was still her mom and anytime Liz was willing to spend time as a family she couldn't help but feel like a giddy little girl.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up to high, Ris. You know how Mom is." Caroline answered, not wanting to see her sister disappointed.

"I know. It's just... I remember before Dad left, we would always watch the parade together, as a family, but now that he's gone and you being in the parade, it would be nice if she did show. Kind of keep the Forbes family tradition going." Marissa admitted. Even though their parents had not been to a parade in years, they at least had each other to stand with, but this year she was going to be the only Forbes in the crowd.

"I'm sorry I won't be standing with you, but I'll be there in spirit and I'll definitely wave at you from the float." Caroline promised.

Marissa smiled at her comment, then asked,"so are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready." Caroline said smiling.

"Let's go then." Marissa said, as she grabbed her white cropped jacket from the bed to go over the white and blue cami top she was wearing in case she got cold later.

With everything in hand that they would need, the two sisters linked arms as they left the bedroom together and made their way outside. Several minutes later, after being dropped off in the school parking lot by Liz, the two girls walked over to the float Caroline was going to be riding on. The perfectionist in Caroline was worried that the float wasn't good enough and while she walked around it, pointing out little mistakes, Marissa tried her best to ease her mind, but wasn't having any luck, until she had a idea that would distract her sister.

"Hey Care, why don't I take your picture?" Marissa suggested, as she pulled out a digital camera from her purse.

Caroline, who loved having her picture taken, instantly cheered up and begin to pose in front of the float. Marissa took a couple of dozen of pictures of her sister until Matt walked over toward them. After speaking to Matt and asking how he was feeling, Marissa begin to take pictures of the couple.

"Say cheese!" Marissa called out, as she pointed the camera toward them.

"Oh wait!" Caroline suddenly called out, then looked at Matt as she added,"hide your cast, it's not era appropriate."

"Seriously?" Matt asked with a chuckle.

"Yes." Caroline answered, wanting the pictures to be perfect.

"Okay, fine." Matt said, as he reposition his arm and hid it behind Caroline.

Marissa chuckled at them then pointed the camera at them again to take a few more pictures. She had just lowered the camera when she felt someone walk up behind her, she glanced behind her and smiled when she saw it was Tyler. He gave her a smile back as he leaned forward to kiss the side of her head to tell her 'hey'. She couldn't help but let her eyes roam over the uniform he was wearing for 'The Battle of Willow Creek' float. Tyler smirk, seeing her checking him out, he opened his mouth to make a comment about it, but before he could, Caroline spoke up.

"Ok, I want a picture with Rissa now." Caroline said, then called out,"Ris, get over here."

"Here, I can take it." Tyler offered, as he took the camera from his girlfriend's hand.

Matt looked over at Tyler and rolled his eyes before mumbling,"I'll be on the float."

After Matt walked away from the group, Caroline folded her arms across her chest as she looked over at Tyler. Tyler shrugged his shoulders and said,"I said I was sorry."

"You made out with his mother and then you beat him to a pulp. You're gonna have to do a little bit better than sorry." Caroline pointed out.

"Care!" Marissa called out. She knew Tyler already felt bad enough about it and didn't need to be reminded of how badly he screwed up, besides she didn't want to be reminded of it either.

"Sorry." Caroline apologized, then added,"all I'm trying to say is, this whole fight thing between you two is stupid."

"I agree. I don't like it either." Tyler said.

"Well then fix it." Caroline suggested.

"I'm trying!" Tyler snapped, then felt himself relax when Marissa grab his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Try harder." Caroline snapped back, as she turned around to walk away to find Matt.

Tyler opened his mouth to argue back, but before he could say a word, Marissa said,"come on, let's take a walk."

Before he could agree or disagree, Marissa begin to walk away and pulled him along behind her. As they walked over to his float in silence, Tyler would glance over at her every few seconds as he tried to gauge what type of mood she was in now. He knew hearing about the time he cheated on her with Kelly was not something she wanted to be reminded of. Even if she said she forgave him for that, he figured it was still a touchy subject between them and the last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt by it again or to ruin her day talking about it.

Once they made it to his float, he reached out with his free hand and wrapped it around her waist before pulling her toward him. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest with a sigh. He wrapped his other arm around her then rested his head on top of hers. He held her for a few moments before whispering,"I'm sorry."

Marissa raised her head to look at him then said,"it's ok. I know you feel terrible about it. You don't have to keep apologizing to me about it."

"I know, I just hate that this Kelly thing is still looming over us." Tyler said, then added,"I swear if I had it to do over, I would never..."

"I know Ty, it's ok." Marissa said interrupting him, then added,"let's just put it out of our minds and enjoy the day."

"If that's what you want." Tyler said, as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It is." Marissa said smiling, then added,"besides the only reason that whole thing keeps looming over us, is because we let it. We need to move on from it."

"You're amazing, you know that right?" Tyler pointed out with a smile. Sometimes he wondered how he ever got so lucky, she was to good for him. She deserved someone way better than him, but for some crazy reason, she gave him a chance, although he would never understand why. Sure he was a good looking guy and he knew it, but he was also a dick. He always feared he would hurt her and when he did, he thought he would lose her forever, but she surprised him and forgave him. Her forgiveness was one of the many reasons he fell in love with her and he was fortunate that she felt the same about him.

"I try." Marissa joked, causing him to chuckle as he leaned forward to kiss her.

After the kiss, Marissa glanced up at the hat upon his head that went with the costume he was wearing. She reached up to remove the hat then looked up at him with a smile on her face as she said,"you know, you are looking pretty good in that uniform."

"Yeah I know. I saw you checking me out earlier." Tyler said, as he took the hat from her hands and placed it back on top of his head.

"I was not checking you out." Marissa lied.

"Yes you were, don't lie." Tyler said, calling her out, then added,"admit it Ris, I'm hot and you know it."

Marissa laughed as she laid her hands on his chest then ran her hands up to wrap them around his neck before saying,"ok fine, you are very hot and I know it."

Tyler grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her toward him then said,"maybe I should leave this uniform on a little longer. Maybe we can go to my house later tonight and do some more orgasmic things."

"I thought we talked about it and that word is banned now." Marissa joked, then added,"but I don't know if that would be a good idea."

"Why?" Tyler asked confused.

"It'll just be kind of weird doing it at your house." Marissa admitted, then explained,"before it wasn't that bad cause your parents were out of town and we had the house to ourselves. But now they are in town and they could come home and catch us. It'll be weird and awkward."

"So?" Tyler said with a laugh, then added without thinking,"it won't be the first time I had sex with a girl while they were in the house."

Marissa frowned at his comment as she took a step back from him. Sure she knew he had been with other girls, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear about it. Hearing him talk about being with other girls was kind of a mood breaker.

"Oh shit, Ris, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I wasn't even thinking..." Tyler immediately apologized once he realized what he said.

"It's ok. I know there were others before me." Marissa said, interrupting him.

"Yeah but I still shouldn't have said that." Tyler said, feeling angry with himself. Why did he always have to stick his foot in his mouth and say the wrong things? This was why he didn't deserve her, but he loved her to much to let her go.

"Tyler, really, it's ok." Marissa said with a smile, hoping to ease his mind.

Tyler softly smiled back then cleared his throat and said,"but seriously, do you want to get together after the parade?"

"I don't know." Marissa said, then quickly added when she saw the disappointed look on his face,"it's not that I don't want to, cause I do, it's just every year me and Caroline would grab dinner together after the parade and this year Mom said she's coming to the parade too, so maybe we can have a Forbes family dinner together. Which is something we haven't done in a really long time."

Tyler nodded his head in understanding then asked,"what about afterwards?"

"Afterwards..." Marissa begin to say, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and raised up on her toes until her lips were only inches from his then continued her sentence,"I am all yours."

Tyler smiled as he leaned forward to kiss her then said,"alright, great! We'll have a full night of f-u-."

"Tyler!" Marissa called out in shock, as she slapped his chest and stopped him from finishing the word he was spelling.

"What?" Tyler asked innocently, then added,"I was going to spell the word 'fun'. Geez, get your mind out of the gutter baby Forbes."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Marissa said sarcastically, not believing him.

Tyler laughed and thought about leaning forward to kiss her again, but before he could do anything, he heard his mom rounding up everyone. It was almost time for the parade to begin and as much as he hated to leave her, he knew he needed to get on the float.

Marissa, hearing Mrs. Lockwood calling for everyone, turned her head to look at her, then looked back at Tyler and said,"I guess that means you need to get going."

"Yeah. I better get on the float before Mom goes crazy." Tyler joked, as they heard Mrs. Lockwood yelling at everyone again.

"Look for me in the crowd?" Marissa asked.

"Of course." Tyler said, as he laid a hand on the side of her face then added,"you are all I ever do see in a crowd."

Marissa smiled at his words then leaned forward to give him a quick kiss and whispered 'bye' before turning around to walk away. She had only took a few steps when he reached out to grab her arm and stop her.

"Hey, hold on a minute." Tyler said, as he stopped her. He waited until she turned around to look at him then he continued,"I know I have screwed up a lot when it comes to you and I know you hate to hear about my past with other girls, but I just want you to remember something."

"What?" Marissa asked.

"That I love you. It doesn't matter who was in my life before you cause you are my life now. You are the only girl I want and the only girl I love." Tyler admitted shyly. He still wasn't use to baring his soul like this, but he wanted her to know how important she was to him.

"Wow. You sure know how to take a girls breath away." Marissa said softly with a smile on her face. She rushed forward to give him a sweet kiss, then she pulled back and looked into his eyes as she breathed out,"I love you too."

Tyler smiled as he gave her another quick kiss then said,"I'll see you after."

"See you after." Marissa said back, as he turned around and jumped onto the float.

With a smile on her face, she made her way through the crowd and over toward the spot she was suppose to meet her mom. She glanced around looking for her, but couldn't see very far through the crowd. She pulled out her cellphone and was about to text her mom until she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She quickly turned around, thinking it was going to be Liz but instead it was Bonnie.

"Oh, hey Bon." Marissa said, trying not to look disappointed. She should have knew better then to get her hopes up.

"Don't be so excited to see me." Bonnie joked, as she gave the girl a quick hug.

"No, I'm sorry, I am excited to see you." Marissa said with a smile, then added,"it's just, mom said she was going to watch the parade with me, but she seems to be a no show."

"I'm sorry Ris." Bonnie said sincerely.

"It's ok." Marissa said with a shrug, trying to appear like it didn't bother her, but Bonnie could see right through it. "Guess I was stupid for believing she would show to begin with. As usual work is more important than family. It's been that way for years." She added softly.

Bonnie shot her a small smile as she wrapped a arm around her waist and hugged her. She wished there was something she could say back to make the younger girl feel better, but there was nothing she could say. Besides she knew how she felt. She knew how it felt to be disappointed by family since she was abandoned by her mother years ago.

"Hey, here comes Tyler." Bonnie said when she heard Carol Lockwood announce the arrival of the float done by Mr. Saltzman's class. She hoped seeing her boyfriend would help cheer up the younger girl and it did.

Marissa shook her head, pushing the disappointment she felt aside as she looked over at the float. She couldn't stop the smile from appearing on her face when her eyes landed on him. She mouthed the words 'I love you' to him and continued to grin as he winked at her and smiled back.

As Tyler turned his head to waved to the crowd, her eyes scanned the other students on the float and locked eyes with Jeremy. She felt her whole mood shift as they stared at each other and she remembered the terrible fight they had, the terrible things he said and even the crazy things he said. Like when he said vampires existed and were in their very own little town. It was a insane thing to think, much less say out loud. There was absolutely no way vampires were real. This was real life, not some silly horror movie.

But this was Jeremy, he wasn't the type to make crazy claims like this without proof. Did he have proof? If she would have stuck around long enough,would he have been able to prove all of this? She had to admit there had been a lot of animal attacks lately and she had been feeling like something wasn't right with her attack. She couldn't remember anything, which the doctors chalked up to trauma, but what about the nightmares? Did they mean something. Although if a animal didn't attack her and it was a person, that didn't mean it was a vampire right? It could just be some crazy psycho going around hurting people.

With those thoughts in mind, she turned her head, breaking eye contact with him. Jeremy didn't know what hurt worse, seeing her mouth her love to Tyler or her looking away. He had hoped after a few days she would have cooled down and they could actually talk, but he guessed he was wrong. He guessed he had really screwed up this time and pushed her away completely.

As the 'Battle of Willow Creek' float begin to move down the street, Marissa was still deep in thought, not sure what to think anymore when the 'Miss Mystic Falls' float came by. Upon seeing Caroline, she smiled and waved at her big sister, who excitedly waved back at her, then her eyes scanned over the rest of the couples on the float. When her eyes landed on Stefan she took a deep breath as a quick flash from her nightmare appeared in her mind. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she watched Stefan smile and wave at the crowd. She tried to imagine him as a vampire, as a monster that could hurt someone, could hurt her.

When Elena and Stefan looked over at her and Bonnie to wave at them, Marissa quickly looked down at the ground. She hated to ignore her friend, but after all the bad dreams, she didn't think she could look at Stefan anymore. She took another deep breath and tried to get control of her emotions before looking up, hoping the float was long gone, but not only was the float still there, Damon was also standing right in front of her and Bonnie, causing her to gasp in surprise.

At hearing her gasp, Damon turned around to eye the younger girl then asked,"problems mini-Forbes?"

"N-no. Everything's ok." Marissa stuttered. She knew she should probably look away from him, but like she did with Stefan, she took a closer look at Damon. Seeing if Jeremy was right, seeing if there was something off about the Salvatore brothers.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, as he folded his arms. He didn't like the way she was looking at him, it was almost like she was figuring things out, which could be a bad thing.

"What do you want?" Bonnie spoke up and asked him.

"Just watching the parade." Damon answered. He glanced over at Marissa, seeing her still staring at him, then he looked at Bonnie as he nodded his head toward Marissa and asked,"what's wrong with her? Make her stop staring."

"Sorry." Marissa mumbled, as she lowered her head.

"Come on, let's go." Bonnie said softly, as she laid a hand on Marissa's arm.

The two girls turned around and begin to walk away from Damon, but instead of letting them go, he begin to walk behind them and asked,"where are you two going?"

"Away from you." Bonnie snapped.

"I wanna say something to you." Damon said to Bonnie, then he looked over at Marissa as he asked,"do you mind leaving the adults alone here for a minute mini-Forbes?"

"You going to be ok?" Marissa asked Bonnie, she wasn't about to leave the girl alone with Damon unless she was ok with it. But when the other girl nodded her head, letting her know it was ok, Marissa gave her a quick hug, telling her she'll talk to her later then turned around to walk away.

After leaving Bonnie, she begin to walk over toward the police station, figuring that was where Liz still was and she wanted to give her mom a piece of her mind, let her know how much she disappointed her today. Although deep down, she was really mad at herself, for believing in her, she should have knew better. She was almost at the station when she saw John walking out of the building. She called out to him then jogged over toward him.

"Hey." Marissa breathed out with a smile on her face once she was in front of him.

John gave her the younger girl a small smile as she leaned forward to hug him. He felt a little guilty from the fact that he had just knocked her mom out and handcuffed her to her desk, but it was necessary. He had to do whatever it took to get rid of all the vampires in town.

"What are you doing here?" John asked her, wondering why she was at the station and hoped she didn't go inside to find her mother.

"Watching the parade." Marissa answered, as she pointed to all the action behind her like it made all the sense in the world.

"Right of course." John said with a small laugh, then added,"but I meant, why are you here at the police station and not out there with your friends?"

"Mom said she was going to meet with me to watch the parade, but she never showed. I was about to go look for her." Marissa answered, as she went to walk around him to enter the building.

"You can't." John called out, as he stepped in front of her to block her. She took a quick step back with a confused look on her face at his outburst. At seeing her expression he added,"I mean, you can't talk to her right now. She's a little tied up at the moment."

"Of course she is." Marissa said, as she rolled her eyes. Thinking he meant she was busy with work. She glanced behind her and saw the parade was coming to a end, then turned back to look at John as she said,"it's just as well I guess since the parade is over."

John, feeling guilty again when he saw the disappointed look on her face, laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze as he said,"don't be to hard on your mom. We all just want to protect you kids. Everything me, your mom and the rest of the adults do is all for you and your friends."

"Protect us from what?" Marissa asked. For a moment she wondered if he might know something she didn't.

"I just mean in general. We want to protect you all from anything that could cause any harm, which is why your mother works so hard." John said, hoping she didn't ask anything else.

Marissa nodded her head at his explanation, then said,"well I guess I better go find Caroline since the parade is over."

"Are you two going home?" John asked with a hopeful expression on his face. He hoped the two would be long gone from the town square by the time the vampires attacked tonight.

"I don't know. We usually grab something to eat after the parade then afterwards I'm meeting up with Tyler." Marissa answered.

"Maybe you and your friends should go to someone's house. Maybe watch a movie, have a little party or something." John suggested.

"I think everyone is planning to stick around and watch the fireworks tonight. You know how the Founder's Day celebration is a big deal around here." Marissa said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but this year's going to be pretty boring. No need to stick around." John argued. He wished he could force her to go home, but since he wasn't a relative, he couldn't really do that, but he could try to push her into going home.

Marissa thought about what he said, but before she could comment back, she heard her cellphone begin to ring and pulled it out of her front pants pocket to see who was calling her. She held up the phone then said,"that's Caroline calling now so I got to go, but I'll talk to you later Uncle John."

"Bye, take care." John called out, as he watched the younger girl race off to find her sister. He really hoped she took his warning and spend the night indoors. He would hate it if something happened to her. Even if he wasn't really her uncle he had watched her grow up and had loved her like he did Jeremy and Elena. To him she was family and even though originally it was Katherine's idea to get rid of all the tomb vampires. He had only agreed to work with Isobel on the plan to protect his family, which was why he was going to get rid of all the vampires, the Salvatores included, to in sure that his family would be ok. He wanted his daughter Elena away from vampires and to live a long happy life with a human, as well as Jeremy and Marissa, he wanted them to live a long life together and he was going to do whatever it took to make that come true.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n- Ah! Finally on the last episode. I didn't think I would ever get here lol. I had planned for the last episode to be one long chapter, but instead decided to break it up into two. This chapter is leading up to all the end of the season drama, I just hope it's not a let down when I post part two. I am so close to starting season two which I am very excited for cause I have some great things planned for Rissa. Don't forget you can check out my polyvore to see outfits and banners for Rissa. You can find the link on my profile or go here {www{dot}polyvore{dot}com/youll_ask_for_me_season/collection?id=2161021} Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to shippolove844, Emmettluver2010, millie1708, pollywallytron, Er123, winxgirl1997, Sage Londyn, Lady Syndra, NightskyDreamcatcher, Bradly93, AlexisMariahh and kate1243 for reviewing. Happy reading =)_

_I also started a new story called 'The Reason' if you wanted to check it out. So far there is only one chapter, but I hope to post a new one soon. Also don't forget to check out the collab I am writing with Sage Londyn called 'Fire and Ice'_


	25. Founder's Day:Part 2

**Founder's Day~Part 2**

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, after the sun had went down, Marissa ate a quick dinner with Caroline before the two sisters went their separate ways and met back up with their boyfriends. Caroline and Matt were sitting in a booth at the Grill, while Marissa and Tyler were over at a pool table playing a few games of pool. Marissa wasn't the best pool player around, she knew how to play the game, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't beat Tyler.<p>

"Annnd..." Tyler dragged out, as he took a shot and knocked the eight ball in, then continued,"another win for me."

"Would it kill you to let me win just one game?" Marissa whined.

"I don't _let_ anyone win. If you want to beat me, you have to do better babe." Tyler pointed out.

Marissa leaned against the pool table and pouted while he racked the balls to begin a new game. He looked over at her and chuckled at the expression on her face, then said,"don't give me that look. You might be my girl, but I'll still kick your ass at pool."

Marissa rolled her eyes and laughed at his comment before glancing around the restaurant. When she saw her sister and Matt, she looked back at Tyler, a plan in mind to try to get the two former friends back together, then said,"you know what? You might have more fun if you played with someone else."

"I am having fun playing against you." Tyler said back.

"Of course you are, you keep beating me." Marissa joked, then added,"but wouldn't it be better if you had some competition? You could play against someone else, someone like... oh I don't know... someone like Matt."

"Rissa." Tyler warned, as he shot her a look.

"What?" Marissa asked innocently, then added,"it was just a suggestion."

"I know what you're trying to do, but stop it ok? It's not going to work." Tyler said.

"I'm sorry." Marissa said with a sigh, then added,"I just hate that you and Matt are still fighting."

"I hate it too, but there's nothing I can do. I've apologized to him over and over again." Tyler pointed out.

"I know you have, but you can't give up. You two have been friends way to long to let something like this come between you two." Marissa said back, repeating what Caroline told her earlier that day about hers and Jeremy's friendship.

"Is that what you did with Gilbert? You two talk things out and now things are sunshine and rainbows again?" Tyler asked sarcastically,already knowing the answer to the question. He knew the two still were not talking to each other since their argument days ago.

"Ok. Point taken." Marissa mumbled, as she walked around the pool table away from him.

Tyler sighed when he saw he had upset her, he walked around the other way to meet her then said,"look I'm sorry for being a dick. I'm not trying to take it out on you. I just don't think Matt is ever going to forgive me and I don't blame him, and I hate it, I really do. We were friends for years and in one night I screwed it all up, but that's the price I have to pay for what I did."

"Maybe one day he'll forgive." Marissa said hopeful.

"It'll take a miracle for him to do that and I don't see that happening." Tyler said back. Then wanting to change the subject from his screw-up, he turned her toward the table then wrapped his arms around her from behind then said,"besides I couldn't do this if I was playing with Matt."

Marissa laughed as he placed his hands on top of hers on the cue stick and helped her take a shot, knocking in the white cue ball, causing her to scratch and lose her turn. She turned her head to look at him then said,"you are doing a bad job at helping me, I was playing better on my own."

"Maybe I'm trying to make you lose on purpose. Ever think of that?" Tyler asked.

"You are really never going to let me win are you?" Marissa asked back with a laugh.

"You already won. You got me remember?" Tyler joked.

"That's not a very good prize." Marissa joked back, as she turned around to face him.

"Oh, it's like that I see." Tyler said, then added,"I guess you forgot about all the orgasmic things I did to you recently, maybe I need to throw you onto this table and remind you."

Marissa threw her head back to laugh, then squealed out in surprise when he gripped her sides her and picked her up, sitting her down on the edge of the table. She felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she glanced around the restaurant, making sure noone was watching them. Once she realized noone was paying them any attention, she looked back at Tyler and whispered for only him to hear,"what are you doing?"

"I told you. I'm helping you to remember." Tyler said with a grin, as he laid his hands on her knees and parted her legs to get closer to her.

Marissa opened her mouth to argue with him but before she could say a word his lips crashed into hers, silencing her. She wasn't usually into public display of affection, but as his lips moved over hers, she felt her whole body come alive and didn't care who could see them, in this moment she felt like they were in their own little world and nothing could ruin that world or so she thought until she felt Tyler being ripped away from her. She snapped her eyes open and was shocked to see Richard Lockwood standing in between them.

"Hi, Mayor Lockwood." Marissa said, feeling embarrassed at being caught making out in public with his son. She quickly jumped down from the table and folded her arms across her chest as she glanced around again. This time they did have the whole restaurant's attention.

Richard ignored her greeting as he tightened his hold on Tyler's arm and snapped,"what are you doing here? I told you to go home."

Tyler pulled his arm away then walked back over to Marissa, he threw a arm around her shoulder then said,"we decided not to."

Richard reached out to grab his son's arm again as he called out,"If I tell you to do something you do it."

"Let go of me." Tyler snapped, as he pulled his arm away again.

"Mayor, it's my fault." Marissa called out, as she stepped in between father and son, then added,"I wanted to come to the Grill. It was my idea."

Marissa looked in between the older and younger Lockwood and hoped the older one bought her lie. She didn't want to see Tyler get in trouble for something as stupid as playing pool at the Grill. As Richard continued to look at the two teens before him, Marissa reached out to grab Tyler's hand, hoping to comfort him and calm him down. Since both Lockwoods had a bad temper, she hoped she could at least keep Tyler calm until his dad left.

Richard sighed when he saw the expressions on their faces, anger on his sons and confusion - slash - worry on Marissa's face, but believe it or not, the last thing he wanted to do was anger them or upset them, he just wanted to protect them.

"You need to leave now. Take Marissa with you." Richard stated, as he nodded his head toward the front entrance.

"Why?" Tyler questioned him.

Richard sighed again, this time in frustration, but before he could answer Caroline and Matt, who could see the tension between the trio from across the room, walked over toward them.

Caroline stood beside her sister and asked them,"is everything okay?"

Richard looked at the small group before him then looked at his son and said as calmly as possible,"please Tyler; I need you to go home, now. Take your friends with you."

"What's going on?" Matt asked.

"I can't explain. All of you need to get home, now. Please." Richard begged.

"Yeah, okay." Tyler said, finally giving in.

"Here, take my car, it's out back." Richard said, as he handed his car keys to his son.

"Mayor, what's wrong? Is something happening?" Marissa asked him with a worried expression.

"Everything is going to be ok." Richard said, hoping he was telling the truth, then added,"now go on. Just go home."

"Come on Ris." Tyler said, as he wrapped a arm around her shoulder and begin to led her through the restaurant behind Caroline and Matt.

As Marissa and Tyler walked across the parking lot, he kept glancing over at her, seeing a worried expression on her face. He silently cursed his dad for ruining their date. He didn't know what the hell his dad's problem was, but he wasn't going to let it ruin the rest of their night.

"You ok?" Tyler asked, as he looked over at her again.

"Mm-hm." Marissa answered, not really paying attention.

"So where do you want to go?" Tyler asked her, then added,"you want me to drop you off at home with your sister or we could just go to my house?"

"That sounds great." Marissa mumbled, lost in thought.

"I was thinking we could just go to my house. I could put on that uniform from the parade again. Maybe you can even borrow that big gown Caroline was wearing. You could be my sexy southern belle and I'll be the hot soldier that saves you from... something bad that happened in the past." Tyler joked, hoping to cheer her up, but when he noticed she wasn't paying attention to him, he decided to take it a step further,"or we could do something simple. Like sexy cheerleader - slash - hot jock. Of course you will have to be the sexy cheerleader cause I am not dressing up like one. I draw the line there. Besides you have better legs for a skirt then me. Or we can do a teacher - slash - student thing. I'll be the teacher and you be the naughty student. Or if you are into kinky stuff, I can do that too. What do you say?"

"Sounds good." Marissa mumbled.

"Ok, that's it." Tyler said, as he reached out to grab her arm to stop her from walking. He turned her toward him then said,"seriously baby, what's wrong?"

"I just... I feel like something's wrong." Marissa answered, a worried look still on her face.

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked confused.

"Earlier I saw John and I don't know, it was like he was hinting for me to leave. Like he didn't want me to stick around town tonight. I mean he didn't come right out and say 'leave' but he suggested it." Marissa explained, then added,"then just now with your Dad. He ..."

"Is a dick." Tyler interrupted.

"Maybe so, but don't you find it weird that he was pushing for us to leave so badly?" Marissa asked.

"Not really. Like I said, he's a dick." Tyler answered, then added,"he's probably worried I am going to embarrass him and the family name if I stick around. He probably figured it was best to send me home and pretend I don't exist."

"If that is true, then screw him Ty, cause you are a amazing person and it's his loss if he doesn't see that." Marissa said sincerely.

Tyler shook his head then said,"the only thing good about me is you."

"That's very sweet of you to say, but you're wrong. There is a lot of good in you Tyler." Marissa said, as she laid her hands on either side of his face then leaned forward to lightly kiss his lips. Afterwards, she leaned back and with her hands still on his face, she looked into his eyes as she added,"I just hope one day you see that. I hope you see yourself the way I see you."

Tyler closed the gap between them to kiss her, then he rested his forehead against hers with a sigh as he said,"you are to good for me."

"Maybe so, but you're stuck with me, deal with it." Marissa joked.

"Hey, I wasn't complaining. I'm just saying you could do better." Tyler said back.

"Better than Tyler Lockwood? Not possible. He's just so hot and dreamy." Marissa said dramatically.

"Ha-ha smart-ass. Now let's go so we can start the role playing." Tyler said, as he wrapped a arm around her waist and begin to walk toward the car again.

"Role play? Wait, what?" Marissa asked confused, as she come to a stop then added,"when did I agree to that."

"A few minutes ago. When you were lost in your own little world." Tyler answered.

"Hey! That's not fair. I was distracted." Marissa pointed out.

"Then maybe you should start paying more attention to what you agree too." Tyler joked, then added,"this is your punishment. Now you have to play sexy southern belle - slash - hot soldier with me."

"Do I even want to know what that is?" Marissa asked with a laugh.

"Probably not. Best to just go with it, but don't worry the night will be orgasmic." Tyler teased.

Marissa laughed at his comment then said,"sorry but I am not playing southern soldier - slash - hot belle or whatever it is you called it."

"It's sexy southern belle - slash - hot soldier." Tyler said, as he playfully rolled his eyes.

"Well whatever, we are not playing that." Marissa said laughing.

"Ok fine, we'll play something else." Tyler said, as he pretended to be deep in thought, then added,"I got it. I can be the bad boy and you can be the sweet and innocent virgin who I corrupt."

"I think we already played that one." Marissa joked.

"You're right. That's what we did our first night together." Tyler joked back.

"How about you just be the boy I love and I'll be the girl you love." Marissa suggested, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That's no fun." Tyler joked.

"Oh but it can be. Cause the girl that loves you, is going to do this..." Marissa begin to say, as she raised up on her tip-toes and whispered something in his ear.

Tyler shot her a surprised look and grinned as he said,"that does sound like fun."

"Told ya." Marissa said smiling, as she leaned forward to kiss him. The two were quickly lost in their own little world, forgetting about everything and everyone for the moment.

"Hey, can you stop molesting my sister now. I want to go home." Caroline called out annoyed, causing the kissing couple to laugh.

"Ok, ok, we're coming." Marissa yelled back at her sister.

"Well not yet, but later we ..." Tyler begin to say with a grin, until Marissa playfully slapped his chest and said,"don't even think of finishing that sentence."

While Tyler laughed at her comment, Marissa jerked the car keys from his hand and begin to run toward the car.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Tyler asked, as he ran after her.

"Driving." Marissa answered, as she shook the keys in the air.

"No, no, no. Not happening." Tyler said, as he reached to grab the keys.

"I second that. I've tried to teach her to drive and it was scary." Caroline added.

"Well how am I going to get better if noone lets me drive." Marissa pointed out.

"I don't think there is any helping you." Caroline said with a laugh, causing Marissa to gasp in surprise as she playing slapped her sisters arm. Caroline rubbed her arm then said,"I'm sorry Ris, but you know it's true."

"No it's not, I'm a great driver." Marissa argued.

Caroline threw her head back to laugh out loud at her comment, then she looked at Matt and said,"help me out here Matt. She's a terrible driver right?"

"I'm not getting in the middle of this." Matt said with a laugh, as he watched the two sisters playfully bicker.

"I don't blame you man, I wouldn't want to get in the middle of the Forbes girls either." Tyler said to Matt, laughing.

For a moment Matt had forgot all about the problems between him and his former friend Tyler, but at his comment, he looked over at him and remembered it all. Not wanting to be around Tyler any longer, Matt sighed then said,"I don't care who drives. I'm just ready to get out of here."

Without another word, Matt opened up one of the car door and sat down in the backseat. Marissa looked over at Tyler and saw his face fall, he had hoped Matt was finally, maybe, going to start forgiving him, but it was plain to see now that he was still pissed.

As Caroline got into the backseat beside Matt, Marissa walked over to Tyler and asked quietly,"are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's cool." Tyler lied, not wanting to admit how much it bothered him. For a moment he thought there was a chance to fix their friendship, but he should have knew better than to get his hopes up.

"Here." Marissa said, as she handed him the car keys.

Once the keys were in his hand, she turned to walk around to the passenger side, but before she could take a step, Tyler reached out and lightly grabbed her arm and said,"hey, wait a second."

"Yeah?" Marissa said, as she turned around to face him.

"I'll take you out soon in my car to practice driving." Tyler said, then added,"I just can't let you drive Dad's car. He'll kill me if you wreck it."

Marissa smiled, happy that he was offering to teach her to become a better driver. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss, then said,"thank you boyfriend."

"You're welcome girlfriend." Tyler said back, smiling.

Marissa leaned forward to kiss him again but before she could they heard the horn blow, scaring her as she took a quick step back. She chuckled as she laid a hand over her heart then turned to look inside the car to see that Caroline had leaned over the backseat to blow the horn at them. Caroline gestured for them to get in the car, then sat back down beside Matt.

Marissa turned to look at Tyler, she opened her mouth to tell them they better go, but Tyler took her by surprise when he laid a hand on the back of her neck and brought her toward him for a long passionate kiss that sent chills down her spine and kept her frozen in place. After the kiss, he took a step back and chuckled at the expression on her face. He loved taking her by surprise, the look on her face was always worth it. Whenever she looked at him with those wide eyes, flushed cheeks and plump lips, he didn't want to stop kissing her, but he knew he had to, at least for now, until he could get her to his house, then he planned to kiss on her, as well as do other things to her, all night long.

"You better get in the car before your sister goes crazy." Tyler said, as he turned her around and lightly pushing her to get her walking. He couldn't help but to reach out and slap her butt as she went to walk away and added,"besides we have all of that role playing to do remember? So let's go."

"I told you, we are not doing that." Marissa said laughing, as she opened the passenger side door.

"We'll see about that." Tyler said with a wink, as he opened the car door and slide behind the wheel.

After a few minutes later the small group was riding silently down the road. Marissa couldn't help but think again how weird it was that the Mayor was pushing for them to leave. She knew Tyler thought it wasn't a big deal, but it seemed like he knew something was going to happen and now that she replayed the conversation between herself and John earlier, it seemed like he knew something too. Combine that with the fact that she had not seen or heard from their mom all day, something didn't seem right. Although it wasn't all that surprising that Liz would disappoint her, but it is surprising that she wasn't out patrolling during and after the parade, cause if there was one thing Liz loved, it was her job. Her job came first, protecting the town came first and usually anytime a town function was going on, she would be out among the crowd, making sure everything was ok. Plus she would usually check in with her daughters at least once during a function, but neither girl had heard anything from her in hours, not since Liz dropped them off before the parade.

With that thought in mind, Marissa pulled out her cell phone, double checking that she had not missed a call or text. She pulled up her contacts, planning to send her mom a text, wanting to know why she didn't show for the parade or at least call to say she wasn't going to make it, but before she got to her mom's number she went past Jeremy's number and came to a stop. She stared at his picture and felt a pang in her heart, she missed him.

Caroline was right earlier, they had been through to much to throw it all away over something stupid, even if she wasn't sure if she believed in the whole vampire thing, she did believe that Jeremy was her soul mate. She knew she had told Caroline earlier that day that she wasn't sure if she still believed that or not, but the truth was she did believe it, she knew she and Jeremy had a bond. She was just scared of believing it and then losing his friendship, she didn't think she could ever handle losing Jeremy from her life.

She clicked on his name and started a new text message, but before she could type anything, Tyler spoke up and asked,"what the hell is that?"

Marissa quickly looked over at him and saw the confused expression on his face as he looked around like he heard something, but she or the other two in the back heard nothing.

"What's wrong Ty?" Marissa asked, as she laid a hand on his shoulder in concern.

"That noise." Tyler said, wondering if they could hear it too. Although he couldn't see how they couldn't, it was a loud piercing noise that made him feel like his brain was going to explode. He just couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"Wait, what noise?" Matt asked, confused.

"What's going on?" Caroline added, also confused.

Marissa looked at Tyler closely and saw a pained look come across his face, she opened her mouth to ask him if he was ok, but before she could, he scream out in pain as he held his head, hoping and praying the noise would just go away. He had never felt a pain this badly before.

"Tyler!" Marissa yelled out, as she dropped her cell phone and quickly removed her seat belt. She turned in her seat toward Tyler and scooted toward him, getting as close as she could then laid her hands on top of his as she called out his name again, feeling lost on how to help him since she wasn't even sure what was happening.

"Rissa! The wheel!" Matt called out.

"Huh?" Marissa asked confused, as she turned her head to look at Matt. She didn't even realize the car was swerving all over the road, she was to busy being worried about Tyler. But when Matt and Caroline yelled at her to grab the wheel and pointed out in front of them, she turned her head back toward the road and gasp in surprise when she saw they were headed straight for a fence at a high speed. She removed her hands from either side of Tyler's head and reached to grab the wheel but was to late as the car slammed into the fence. Marissa felt her body fly forward and her head slam into the windshield slam before everything went black.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Tyler wasn't sure what happened or what that noise was, all he knew was it felt like needles piercing his skull then he had passed out. His mind felt foggy as he tried to remember what all had happened, what he was doing before... then it hit him. He was driving down the road before he heard the weird noise. He was taking Caroline and Matt home, then he and Marissa ...

_"Rissa..."_ He thought to himself, as he snapped his eyes open and quickly sat up. Taking the paramedic, who was checking him out and Matt by surprise.

"Dude, are you ok?" Matt asked him, as he squatted down beside him then added,"you need to go to the hospital. A ambulance just took Caroline and...

"Rissa... where is Rissa?" Tyler called out, interrupting him.

Matt didn't say anything as he glanced over his shoulder to look behind him, causing Tyler to glance in the same area and felt his heart drop when he saw Marissa laying on the ground with paramedics surrounding her.

Tyler quickly stood up and made his way over toward her, ignoring Matt who suggested he take it easy, as a paramedics lifted the stretcher she was laid on. He walked along beside the stretcher, calling out her name and asking what was wrong with her, as they wheeled her toward a ambulance.

After they loaded her into the back of the ambulance, Tyler went to jump inside, wanting to be with her, but before he could he felt someone grabbed his shoulder and pull him back. He turned his head to see one of the paramedic holding him back, telling him he couldn't enter.

"Screw you, I'm going." Tyler snapped at the paramedic.

"You and the other boy are riding in another one. A Doctor will check you out further at the hospital." The paramedic stated.

"I'm going in this one." Tyler argued, as he went to walk past the man, until he reached out to stop Tyler again.

"Look we need to work on her the whole way to the hospital and we can't have you in the way. Do you want her to live or do you want her to die?" The paramedic snapped back.

Tyler took a deep breath and felt tears fill his eyes at the thought of losing her. He took a step back, not going to argue anymore, and said softly,"just save her. Please, just save her."

The paramedic felt bad for the teen boy in front of him, he could tell the younger guy felt deeply for the girl. He laid a hand on his shoulder then said,"we'll do everything we can. I promise."

Tyler nodded his head and stood frozen in place as he watched the ambulance drive away. He could see the paramedic he had been talking to and another one working feverishly on Marissa. He continued to stay in the same spot until another paramedic led him toward another ambulance to take him and Matt to the hospital. He didn't pay much attention to the paramedic who was checking him over again, all he could think about was her. His girl. She was hurt and she needed him, he just had to hope and pray she could beat this. He couldn't lose her, he just couldn't. She survived a animal attack, she could survive this too... right?

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Across town at the Gilbert house, Jeremy, who had no idea about the car wreck, was sitting on his bed and staring at his bedroom door in a daze. Damon had just left his room, he had came by to tell him that Anna was dead and offered to take away his suffering, but Jeremy turned him down. He didn't want any other memories taken from him, cause even if Damon did take away his suffering before when Vicki was killed, it was never really gone. He still felt lost and at times alone. The only times he had felt anything was when he had Marissa in his life and when he started dating Anna. Anna brought him happiness and he did care for her and always would, but Marissa had always made him feel alive.

Anna was someone he could have spent his whole life with, sure Marissa was the girl he would always love and want, but if that never happened and it seemed like it wouldn't, Anna was someone he could have fallen for. But now Anna was gone and it hurt like hell. He already missed her. He also missed Marissa. Marissa had always been a big part of his life, but he knew he had screwed up and hurt her. He knew she would probably never forgive him, but he needed her. He was hurting bad and he needed her now more than ever.

With that thought in mind, he stood up from his bed and walked across the room to his desk to pick up his cell phone. He quickly called her cell phone number with plans to invite her over and work things out. No matter what happened in their life, they were bonded for life or so he had hoped until his call went straight to her voice mail. He could only assume that she ignored his call and couldn't help but feel his heart break at realizing what that meant. Anytime in the past when they had argued about something, they had never went this long without making up. But this time he had really done it, she had told him to never talk to her again and apparently she meant it and now it was over. Their friendship was over.

With tears in his eyes, he opened his desk drawer and grabbed the vial of blood Anna had given him. He had lost to much in his young life. His parents, two girls he cared about and now his best friend. He felt like he had noone now and was tired of feeling empty and alone. The pain was to much to bare. Anna told him vampires didn't have to feel pain, that they could shut it off. He thought back to what Damon told him just a few minutes ago.

_'Life sucks either way, Jeremy, but at least if you're a vampire you don't have to feel bad about it if you don't want to.'_

He realized he didn't want to feel it, he didn't want to feel anything again. With that thought in mind, he turned up the vial and drank ever drop of blood before taking a bottle full of pills. Afterwards he laid down in his bed and closed his eyes, within minutes everything went black.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey all! This is the last chapter for season one! Yay! I hope it wasn't a disappointment. I know I could have ended it after Rissa blacked out but thought I would show a little what Tyler and Jeremy were feeling at the end. I am so excited to start on season two now. I am also so happy that people love this story and I hope you all will continue to read season two cause I have some good things planned. I will also be using a new story cover when I start posting season two. I have already made it and it's on my polyvore if anyone wants to check it out now. You can find the link to my polyvore on my profile. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to winxgirl1997, Lady Syndra, roses and violets, AlexisMariahh, Bradly93, TeamGilbert, Sage Londyn, shippolove844 and HermioneandMarcus for reviewing. _

_Also if you haven't already please check out the story 'Fire and Ice' by me and my good friend Sage Londyn. You can find the story on her profile or I have a link for it on my profile. I also recently started a new story called 'The Reason' if you wanted to check it out. I hope to update that one again soon._

_ps - Did you all see this weeks episode? I am so heart broken. I was almost to depressed to write this story lol. I won't say to much in case any of you haven't seen it. But I will say this much, all I could think was 'poor Rissa is going to have a hard time in season 4 when I get to it' lol. _


	26. The Return:Part 1

_{Season Two}_

**The Return~Part 1**

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Tyler was sitting beside Matt in a waiting room at the hospital. He nervously tapped his foot and chewed on his thumbnail as they waited for word on either of the Forbes girls. He couldn't help but go over the wreck in his mind over and over again. He still had no idea what the noise was he heard, maybe he was just getting a terrible migraine or something, he wasn't sure and he guessed it really didn't matter how it happened, the bad thing is it did happen. He wrecked and now two people were hurt, one of them being the girl he was in love with. The girl he knew he wouldn't be able to live without if something were to happen to her. She had to make it through this, she just had to.<p>

Before Tyler could get lost in his own thoughts and worry for too much longer, Liz walked over toward the two boys with an unreadable expression on her face. Matt lightly hit Tyler's arm then nodded his head toward Liz as she got closer to them. The two boys quickly stood up and walked over to meet her. Tyler opened his mouth to ask how both girls were, the guilt eating at him, but before he could say a word, Matt beat him to it.

"How's Caroline?" Matt asked, worried about his girlfriend.

"She's going to be ok." Liz answered with a relieved expression, then added,"her injuries were not as severe as they thought."

"And Rissa?" Tyler asked, his voice cracking with emotion.

Liz's face fell as she shook her head, her eyes begin to water as she said,"we don't know yet. They're doing everything they can."

"She'll be ok." Matt said, hoping to reassure them all, then added with a small smile,"she's a fighter. Just like her sister."

Liz softly smiled at his comment. It was true, both of her girls were strong and she knew they would fight with everything they had. She glanced over at Tyler and saw the terrified expression on his face. She knew he was already devastated about the news about Marissa and now as much as she hated it, she was about to lay even more bad news on him.

"Tyler, have you talked to your mom?" Liz asked him.

"I left her a message telling her I was here." Tyler answered cautiously, wondering why she was bringing up his mom.

"You need to call her." Liz suggested.

"What is it?" Tyler asked, confused.

"It's your dad." Liz answered sadly.

Tyler raised his eyebrows in confusion. What could be wrong with his dad? He had just seen him a little bit ago. Maybe he found out about him crashing his car and was pissed at him? If that was the case he didn't want to talk to either one of his parents right now, besides he had no plans in leaving the hospital until he knew if his girlfriend was going to be ok or not.

"I'll give her a call later." Tyler said, not even imagining something bad could have happened.

Liz shook her head at the younger boy then said,"you might want to call her now, matter of fact you should just go home."

"Why? What happened?" Tyler asked, starting to become even more worried.

"Just go home Tyler." Liz said again, then added before he can argue,"we'll keep you updated."

As much as he hated to leave in a time like this, he could tell by the look in the sheriff's eyes that it was something serious. He finally nodded his head and turned around to walk away. Once outside and in his car, he called his mom, wondering what the big emergency was. After a quick chat with , he finally understood why the sheriff suggested he should leave.

He rested his hands on the steering wheel and laid his head against them. He closed his eyes with a sigh. He didn't think his night could get worse, but it did. With his eyes closed he could hear his mom's voice over and over in his head as she broke the news to him about his dad's death, _'he's gone Ty. Your dad is gone.' _

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_"Jeremy ... Jeremy ..." Jeremy faintly heard a female voice say, as she tried to wake him up. _

_"Jeremy, please, wake up." He heard her cry out, causing him to snap his eyes open to see a younger looking Marissa standing over him. _

_"Rissa? What's wrong?" Jeremy asked, as he sat up in bed, worried about his best friend, who had tears running down her face. _

_"He's gone, Jer. He's gone." Marissa cried._

_"Who? What?" Jeremy asked, as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. He wasn't sure what time it was, he knew it had to be late but he didn't care. She needed him. _

_"Dad. He left, he left us." Marissa explained, as she crawled into the bed and fell beside him. _

_"It's ok Ris. He'll be back. He always comes back." Jeremy said, trying to comfort her like he had done the last few years since her parents started fighting. Although lately it had got worse and her dad would leave for days at a time before coming back again. _

_"No. He's really gone this time Jer." Marissa cried, then added,"I heard them fighting. The reason he has left so much lately is cause he was looking for a new place. He found one and tonight he asked for a divorce, it's over. He's gone." _

_Jeremy was at a lost for words as he wrapped an arm around her and brought her toward him. She laid her head on his chest as more tears fell down her face. He lightly kissed the top of her head then whispered,"I'm sorry Ris. I'm so sorry." _

_"Can I stay with you tonight Jer?" Marissa asked quietly, not wanting to go back home. _

_"You know you can Ris. You know I am always here for you." Jeremy answered, as he held on to her tighter. _

_"I heard him tell mom that he'll be back in the morning to break the news to me and Caroline." Marissa said, then added,"maybe if I'm not there, maybe if he can't tell me, then he won't leave." _

_"I don't think that's going to work Rissa." Jeremy said.  
><em>

_"I know." Marissa said with a sigh. She raised her head to look at him then added,"I know that won't work but one can hope right?"_

_Jeremy nodded his head as he wiped the tears from her eyes then repeated,"one can hope."_

_Marissa laid her head back down on his chest as she thought back to the huge fight she heard her parents have and felt fresh tears fill her eyes when she thought about not being able to see her dad every day every again. She bit her bottom lip to keep a sob from escaping but Jeremy could still feel her shaking as she begin to cry. _

_"I can't do this Jer. I can't watch him leave. I'm not strong enough." Marissa cried into his chest. _

_Jeremy tightened his hold on her, wishing there was something he could do, but knew there was nothing that would make a girl feel better about losing her father. All he could do was be there for her. _

_"You are strong Ris." Jeremy said, then added,"but just remember you are not alone. You have me. Anytime you think you're not strong enough, I will be here to tell you that you are."_

_"You promise?" Marissa asked softly._

_"I promise Ris. I'm not going anywhere, ever. I'll always be here." Jeremy said._

_Marissa softly smiled at his words then said,"I got your back and you got mine." _

_"Always." Jeremy whispered back._

Jeremy suddenly gasp for breath as he snaps his eyes open, ending his dream as he remembered the night Marissa ran to him upset about her parents divorce. He looked up to see a frantic Elena standing over him. As soon as Jeremy sat up, Elena wrapped her arms around her, asking him if he was ok.

"What happened?" Elena asked him, for a moment she was worried that whatever vampire has hurt John had done something to Jeremy.

"It- it was nothing." Jeremy said, not wanting to talk about.

Without even thinking, he glanced over at his desk, where the small empty tube that held Anna's blood, was sitting as well as the empty bottle of pills he took. Elena followed his eyes and gasp in surprise when she saw what he was looking at. She walked across the room to get a better look then picked up the vial as she turned to Jeremy and asked,"where did you get this?"

When he didn't answer she asked again,"Jeremy, who gave you this?"

"Anna." Jeremy answered simply.

"Please tell me you didn't drink this and then take all of these pills." Elena said, as she gestured toward the empty bottle.

Instead of answering, Jeremy looked down at the floor, which was answer enough for her. She slipped out her cell phone from her front pants pocket and quickly called Stefan to come check on him. As soon as she ended the call, she heard an ambulance pull up in front of the house from when she called for help for John. She told Jeremy to stay put as she ran down the stairs and let the paramedics as well as the police in.

After answering the cops questions, she saw Stefan walk up on the porch and breathe out a sigh of relief upon seeing him. With everything that had happened that night, she really needed him now more than ever.

"He's okay." Elena called out, when the officer tried to stop Stefan from coming in.

Once he was in the house, Elena turned around and ran up the stairs with him following along behind her as they went to check on Jeremy. After telling Stefan what happened, he begin to check him over, making sure he wasn't in transition.

"Is he ok? I mean he looks fine but then again so do you. So, I just... I don't know." Elena said out worriedly.

"Look at me." Stefan said, as he grabbed Jeremy's face, forcing him to look at him so he can look at his eyes.

"I'm fine, okay?" Jeremy said, as he pulled his head away, then added,"I feel exactly the same."

"Should I call a paramedic up here? What should I do?" Elena asked, as she became even more worried. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to her little brother.

Stefan grabbed Jeremy's face again and looked him over then said,"no, he's fine."

Elena breathed out a sigh of relief then asked,"what about the pills that he took?"

"He didn't take enough to die so Anna's blood actually healed him, I bet." Stefan said.

Before anyone else in the room could say anything, one of the officers from downstairs knocked on the door frame, letting Elena know they were done and leaving the house. Elena nodded her head and thanked them then turned back to face Stefan and Jeremy.

"You should get to the hospital. Check on Caroline and Rissa." Stefan suggested.

At the mention of his best friend, Jeremy looked up and asked."Rissa? What's wrong with Rissa?"

Elena looked over at Stefan, wondering how much she should tell him. She knew how worried Jeremy would be if he knew how badly things look for Marissa, but at the same time she knew he deserved to know and she was tired of keeping things from him. Sure she wanted to protect him, but she couldn't protect him from this, she couldn't protect him from knowing that he might be losing his childhood friend.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked with a worried expression, as he stood up from the bed.

"Rissa, Caroline, Tyler and Matt were in a wreck tonight." Elena said, then added,"the boys are ok, Caroline's injuries are not as bad as they thought, but Rissa..."

"What?" Jeremy asked, as Elena paused to take a deep breath and get control of her emotions.

"She's not doing good Jer." Elena continued with tears in her eyes. Marissa was like a little sister to them all and the thought of losing her was upsetting to them all.

At her words, Jeremy felt his heart drop as he sat back down on the edge of his bed. He couldn't believe it, she had to be wrong, Marissa had to be ok, he couldn't lose her. He ran a hand over his hair and felt his eyes water. He couldn't believe while she was fighting for her life, he was trying to end his. Sure he would have come back as a vampire, but instead of doing that, he should have been there for her, just like he always promised he would be.

Jeremy could hear Elena telling Stefan she was leaving and heard Stefan mention he would stay behind to watch over him. But he didn't want to be watched over, he didn't need a babysitter. Besides he needed to get to Marissa. He knew things were tense with them right now, but he didn't care, he was going to be there for her now.

"I'm going with you." Jeremy said, as he quickly stood up from the bed, stopping Elena from walking out his bedroom.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Elena said, worried about his safety with vampire blood in his system.

"I don't care. I'm going." Jeremy snapped back.

Elena looked over at Stefan for help, unsure on what she should do. Jeremy took a step toward her, pleading with her as he said,"I just want to be there for Rissa. I'll do whatever you say to be safe, I just have to be there. She needs me."

Elena glanced back over at Stefan, who nodded his head, telling her it should be ok, then she looked back at Jeremy and said,"ok, but no more trying to kill yourself ok?"

Stefan nodded his head in agreement then added,"with every passing moment, Anna's blood is leaving your system. If you try to kill yourself right now, you could _really_ die."

"Ok, I won't. I promise." Jeremy said, as he held up his hands in surrender. All he wanted was to be by Marissa's side as soon as possible. He would promise anything to make that happen.

"I'll meet you downstairs." Elena said, as she and Stefan left the room so he could change out of his pajamas.

Many minutes later, Elena and Jeremy rushed inside the hospital, Stefan stayed behind just in case the vampire that attacked John returned. Once inside, the two siblings looked around for a familiar face. After running down a few halls, they finally saw Bonnie and rushed over to her, asking for the latest updates.

Bonnie shook her head as tears rolled down her face before saying,"Rissa is really weak, they don't know if she's going to make it."

At her statement, the tears Elena had been trying to hold back finally broke free, as she wrapped an arm around Bonnie's waist and wrapped the other around Jeremy's shoulders. Hoping they could all comfort each other.

"Is there something that you can do? Like a spell or something?" Jeremy asked Bonnie, knowing she was a witch since he read it in Elena's diary.

"She doesn't know how, do you?" Damon said out, as he interrupted their conversation.

"No, I don't." Bonnie answered, wished that she really did. She wished there was a way she could help Marissa.

"No, you don't because it took Emily _years_ to learn a spell like that." Damon said back with a smug smile.

"Well, I can take down a vampire, that spell was easy to learn." Bonnie snapped back.

Damon ignored her comment as he looked over at Elena and Jeremy then said,"I can give Rissa some blood."

"No, no way." Elena quickly said, she already had to watch over Jeremy to keep him safe until the blood passed, she didn't want to do that to Marissa either.

"No, just enough to heal her. She will be safe in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day, she will be better Elena." Damon pointed out.

"Why are you so quick to help her?" Bonnie asked, as much as she wanted Marissa to be saved she had to make sure there wasn't any ulterior motives on Damon's part.

"Mini-Forbes is a good kid. I would hate to see something bad happen to her." Damon answered honestly. He knew how upset his friend Liz would be to lose a daughter, beside he had a soft spot for the younger girl.

"Do it." Jeremy said, not having to think twice about it. When he saw the girls expression he added,"it's Rissa. We can't let her die. I'm not going to lose her."

Damon nodded his head then said,"I'll come back later tonight to do it."

"Good." Jeremy said with a sigh of relief.

Damon gave him a small smile, feeling bad for the young boy. It felt weird to actually care about someone else's feeling, that was something he had not done in a long time, but he still found himself feeling bad for Jeremy. He had already lost so much in his life and he knew how much the younger Forbes girl meant to him and he actually felt a little sense of pride that he could actually do something to help for once instead of making things worse. Elena was slowly changing him and he kind of like it. Just like earlier tonight on her porch when he opened up to her and they kissed, that he definitely liked.

With that thought in mind, he looked over at Elena and said,"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now but we should talk about what happened tonight."

As Elena commented back and the two begin to talk, Jeremy walked off from the group and walked over to a group of chairs where Matt was sitting. He sat down beside him, his mind on Marissa. He felt like he was in the middle of a bad dream. He kept hoping any minute he would wake up and the day would be rewound. He would call her, apologize for his stupid comment the other day, make up with her then make her promise not to get in a car. Actually if he could really rewind a day, he would go all the way back to the summer and save his parents. He would hold on tight to Marissa and tell her how he felt so he wouldn't lose her to Tyler and maybe he could have saved Vicki and Anna somehow too, then his life would be perfect, but unfortunately he didn't live in a perfect world and now after losing so many people he loved, he knew he couldn't handle losing another.

While deep in thought, Matt reached over and patted his shoulder, as if he knew Jeremy needed comfort, then said,"she'll be ok."

Jeremy looked over at Matt and nodded his head, hoping like hell he was right. Marissa had to make it through this, she just had to, cause he couldn't lose her, not now, not ever.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hello readers! Sorry for taking so long to update, but we are finally on season two! I am so excited and I hope you all are too =} I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I got to say writing the Rissa/Jeremy flashback almost made my cry cause of what has happened recently on the show, I won't say what happened though in case any of you haven't seen it, but yeah writing that scene was killing me ={ Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to TheOtherBlueEyedSalvatore, KittyShadesTs, cecld16, shippolove844, RHatch89, Lady Syndra, winxgirl1997, TeamGilbert, AlexisMariahh, Guest, Sage Londyn, Writteninthestars08, Guest, Featheredearring, weekendrusher and LilithJade4 for reviewing. I can't wait to hear what you all think, happy reading =}_

_p/s - if any of you are fans of the show 'Sons of Anarchy' I just recently got hooked on the show and have started a story on it. The story is called 'Since You've Been Gone' if any of you wanted to check it out! _


	27. The Return:Part 2

**The Return~Part 2**

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><p>The next morning and into the afternoon, Jeremy sat beside Marissa's hospital bed. The doctors were surprised by her sudden turn around, they saw it as a miracle that she was getting better, but only Jeremy and a few others knew it was Damon's blood in her system that made her better.<p>

As happy as Jeremy was that she was going to be ok, he just wished she would wake up. He needed to see with his own eyes that she was ok, which was why he was sitting by her side now and had no plans to move until she was awake. He didn't even leave her side to visit his uncle John. Elena had told him Katherine was in their house and she tried to kill John. He felt bad for him, but couldn't bring himself to visit him, not after what he did to Anna. Besides he didn't want to leave Marissa's side. After almost losing her, he couldn't bring himself to leave her.

As Marissa slept soundly, Jeremy leaned back in the uncomfortable chair he had been sitting in for hours. After watching her sleep for awhile, he decided to pull out his sketch book to draw a picture of her to help past the time. Every so often he would glance up to check on her before looking back down at the book to begin drawing again. He didn't need to look at her to draw her, he had memorized her features a long time ago and could draw her from memory, but he just kept his eyes off of her.

He had just finished drawing the outline of her laying in bed and was about to start on the details, when he heard her shift around and softly moan. He quickly looked up and felt a smile appear on his face when he saw her eyes fluttering before she slowly opened them. He sat his sketch book down on the bed, near her feet, then sat forward in his chair to get closer to her. He pushed her hair away from her forehead and rested his other arm above her head.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you." Jeremy said with a sigh of relief. For a moment, before Damon feed her his blood, he thought he would never see her again.

"It's good to see you too Jer." Marissa said barely over a whisper with a small smile on her face.

Jeremy smiled back then without her having to ask, he stood up and grabbed a small cup from the table by the bed and filled it with water. He handed her the cup and after taking a few sips she handed him the cup back. He sat back down in the chair and leaned closer to her, resting a arm across her stomach, just needing to be close to her and touch her.

He cleared his throat, needing to get something off his chest, then begin to say,"I'm sorry Rissa. For everything I've done, for everything I've said and I..."

Marissa shook her head to interrupt him then laid her hand on top of the arm that was rested on her stomach as she said,"it's already forgotten."

Jeremy smiled as he leaned forward to lightly kiss her forehead then said,"I thought I was going to lose you."

Marissa rested her forehead against his then said,"we're going to be together forever, remember? Just like we promised each other years ago. You're my best friend for life, Jer. I got your back and you've got mine."

"Always." Jeremy said softly, as he smiled at her comment, then he asked,"how are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly ok. I mean I am a little sore but nothing to bad." Marissa answered, then added,"I guess we were all pretty lucky huh?"

Not long after having some of Damon's blood in her system, she had woke up briefly, scared and confused until a nurse rushed in to try to calm her down with no luck. Finally her mom came inside the room to fill her in on everything. The car wreck, the fire and the mayor's death. She was shocked to find out all of that had happened, but was glad to hear that Caroline, Matt and Tyler were ok. After hearing that, she was able to calm down and fall back asleep.

"Yeah it's a miracle." Jeremy lied. He had no plans of telling her the real reason she was better or how close she actually came to dying.

"Your mom told me that Caroline is getting out tomorrow morning." He added, changing the subject.

"That's great." Marissa said, then asked,"did Tyler or Matt have to stay in the hospital any?"

"No, they were checked over that night and released right after." Jeremy answered.

"Good." Marissa said, glad to hear that the two boys were ok. Although she was still very worried about her boyfriend after just losing his father.

"How's Tyler doing? With his father's death I mean?" Marissa asked him.

"He seems to be taking it ok I guess." Jeremy answered, then added,"he was here earlier this morning but then had to go home to help his mom get things ready for the wake tonight at their house. Which reminds me, he wanted me to tell you he's sorry if he wasn't here when you woke up."

Marissa shook her head then said,"it's ok. I completely understand why he's not here. I just wish I could be there for him."

She looked over at Jeremy when a idea hit her then she asked,"hey Jer, would you do me a big favor?"

"Yeah, anything." Jeremy said back.

"Will you go to the mayor's wake in my place?" Marissa asked, then quickly added before he could say 'no',"I know you and Tyler are not the best of friends and you pretty much hate the guy..."

"I don't _hate_ hate him. I just didn't like him very much." Jeremy said interrupting her, then added,"but I got to admit, maybe you are right. Maybe he's not that bad."

"Told ya." Marissa joked, as she smiled at him.

Jeremy smiled back but didn't say anything else. He didn't want to admit that he was still jealous of Tyler and that he still hated to see them together. Cause even if it did make him sick to his stomach he knew Tyler made her happy and it was plain to see that Tyler is in love with her and that was all that really mattered, her happiness.

"So will you go? Please?" Marissa asked again, bring him out of his thoughts.

"Who's going to be here with you?" Jeremy asked, hating the thought of leaving her.

"I'm fine Jer, I don't need someone here with me, but Tyler does need someone and since I can't be there for him, I know you are the next best thing." Marissa said. She reached out to grab one of his hands then added softly,"you know how it feels to lose a parent and I just don't want him to deal with this alone."

Jeremy slowly nodded, she was right, he did know how it felt and he was glad that he had her back then to help him get through it. It was a hard time for him and sometimes he didn't handle things right, like when he turned to drugs and Vicki or pushed Marissa away, but she never gave up on him and he would be lost without her.

"Ok, I'll go." Jeremy finally said, causing her to smile.

"Thank you Jer." She said, then added,"you don't even have to stay long, just check in on him. Make sure he's ok and then you can leave if you want."

Jeremy nodded then said,"ok, but after that I'm coming right back here."

"Actually I was going to tell you to go home." Marissa said back, then added when he shook his head 'no',"Jeremy I know you and I bet you've been at this hospital all day and night am I right?"

"Yeah, but.."

"No buts Jer." She said interrupting him, then added,"you need to go home. You need to eat, get some sleep in your own bed and take care of yourself."

When he opened his mouth to argue, she added with a smile,"just do it for me, please. I need my best friend healthy so you can take care of me once I am out of this stupid hospital."

"Fine, I'll go home afterwards and rest but I'll be back in the morning." Jeremy said.

"Thank you." She said with a smile.

"You know you're really bossy when you're in the hospital." Jeremy joked, causing her to laugh out loud.

"What are you talking about, I've always been bossy." Marissa said back with a laugh of her own.

"Very true, but I wouldn't have you any other way." Jeremy said, as he smiled at her.

"And I wouldn't have you any other way. I love you, Jer." Marissa said, as she smiled back. She was happy that they were back to being friends the way they were suppose to be. She had hated all the fighting they had done lately and had really missed her best friend.

Jeremy continued to smile as he leaned forward to softly kiss her forehead before saying,"I love you too, Ris. Always."

"And forever." She said back, as she grabbed one of his hands and intertwined her fingers with his, holding on to him tightly.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After talking to Jeremy for a little bit longer, Marissa closed her eyes for a moment to rest and before she knew it she was fast asleep. She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping, but hours later when she opened her eyes she noticed her room was darker and turned her head to glance out the window, seeing that the sun was setting. But she was even more surprised to see Tyler standing in front of the window with his back toward her. Sure she was happy to see him, excited even, but wasn't expecting to see him tonight cause of his father's wake.

"Ty?" She whispered, getting his attention.

"Hi, sorry, I didn't wake you did I?" He asked softly, as he turned around to face her, happy to see her with his own eyes.

Marissa shook her head as she said,"no, but I wish you would have. I miss you so much Ty."

Tyler released a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding and softly smiled at her words. A part of him was worried she would blame him for the wreck and not want to see him every again. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her.

She could tell he had a lot on his mind, but before she could ask him anything, he left the window and walked over to her bed to lean down to softly kiss her lips as he rested his hands on either side of her face. After the kiss he kept his lips inches from her as he softly caressed her cheeks. He felt her warm breath against his face and thanked God that she made it through this and that she was alive.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, still beating himself up for the car wreck. A pained look came across his face as he added,"God, Ris, I am so sorry."

"It's ok." Marissa whispered back, as she reached up to rest a hand on the side of his face.

"No, it's not. I could have killed you. I could have killed us all and I don't even know what happened." Tyler tried to explain, then added,"I swear I don't know what happened. There-there was this noise and I don't know where it was coming from but it felt like my head was going to explode."

"Hey, seriously, it's ok. It was just a accident, you don't have to explain anything. Maybe you were getting a migraine or something, who knows, but all that matter is we're ok. I'm ok. Caroline is ok and so is Matt." Marissa pointed out, then added as she shot him a concern look,"but you are the one I am worried about."

With her hand still resting on the side of his face, Tyler lowered his head to kiss the inside of her wrist. He kept his lips against her skin as he took a deep breath then said,"I'm fine, Ris."

"No you're not. You're beating yourself up over the wreck that was a accident and then losing your dad on top of that. No you are not fine Tyler." Marissa pointed out, then added softly,"and that's ok cause losing a parent is not a easy thing I would imagine, but just know, I am here for you."

"I know." Tyler whispered with his head still down. She heard him sniff then he lifted his head as he said,"I just.. I don't know what I should feel or what I should be thinking. I mean I've spent so much time hating him cause he was always such a dick to me. I could never do anything right in his eyes, but he's still my dad and now he's gone and I have all this anger inside me. I always have this anger inside me, even before all of this, I mean you know how I get sometimes."

He didn't wait for her to respond as he continued,"it's like I black out and I don't realize what I'm saying or doing and I hate being this way. I feel like it is getting worse, Ris and it scares me." He added.

Tyler looked back down at he quietly admitted,"I went off on my mom tonight."

"What happened?" Marissa asked with a worried expression.

"I don't know. I was- I was just looking at a picture in dad's office and I'm just filled with all this rage inside and felt like I was going to explode, then the next thing I know Mason is tackling me to the floor and mom is all upset." Tyler explained, then added,"I don't know what is going on. Mason says it's just the family curse but it doesn't feel normal and I don't know what to do."

Marissa scooted over in the bed then reached out to grab his hand as she pulled him toward her, wanting him to lay down with her. He carefully laid down in the hospital bed with her and felt himself begin to relax as she laid her head on his chest and cuddled up to him.

"I don't know either, but whatever is going on we'll figure it out together." Marissa said, as she laid her arm across his stomach and hugged him.

Tyler pulled her closer to him and laid his head on top of hers as he smiled at her comment. He liked that word 'together' and was glad that he had her in his life. He didn't know what he would do without her, but hopefully he would never have to find out.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Marissa and Tyler continued to lay in her bed as they talked a little longer, him talking about his uncle being back in town and how he was actually kind of happy about that and her talking about how bored she was at being stuck in the hospital and how she couldn't wait to get out. The two talk for many more hours while in each others arms before both of them begin to get sleepy and decided to sleep for the rest of the night. He didn't care if visitors hours were over or not, he was staying the night with her. He needed her just as much as she needed him and he was thankfully when none of the nurses tried to force him to leave. He didn't think he had the energy to fight any of them on the matter, but he would if he had to.

Marissa wasn't sure how long they had been sleeping for but was surprised when she opened her eyes to a empty bed. She rolled from her side to her back as she lowered her eyebrows in confusion, wondering where Tyler went, but once she was on her back she looked up and gasp in surprised when she saw Elena standing over her.

"Jeez, Elena! You scared the crap out of me." Marissa said, as she laid a hand on her heart before adding,"what are you even doing here this late? Where's Tyler?"

"Boyfriend went outside to check in with mommy. He'll be back soon which doesn't give us a lot of time." The brunette above her said.

"Time for what?" Marissa asked confused,"what are you talking about Elena?"

The other girl smiled evilly then said,"my name is Katherine. I was hoping you could give the Salvatore brothers a message for me."

"What are you talking about? What message?" Marissa asked, as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned.

"Game on." Katherine said, keeping her message short and sweet.

"What?" Marissa asked, feeling even more confused.

Instead of answering, Katherine quickly grabbed one of the pillows from the hospital bed and placed it over Marissa's face, cause the younger girl to scream out a muffled scream. She tried to push the pillow away, but was not match against Katherine and her vampire strength. She even tried to scratch at Katherine's hands, hoping to hurt her enough so she could push the pillow away, but nothing was working. She felt herself begin to fade out as it become harder and harder to breathe.

She had always heard that your life flashed before your life when you died, but it wasn't true, instead she saw glimpses of the people most important to her, like snap shots, one right after another. There was Caroline, Jeremy, Tyler, her parents and the rest of her friends. Each one flashed in her mind over and over again, like she was flipping through a picture book, until she took her last breath and everything went black.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey all! I am so sorry for the long wait, I really did not mean to take this long to update this story. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. I am getting so excited, cause I am finally getting to all the good stuff I have had planned for Rissa. We are getting to the good stuff lol. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to RHatch89, HermioneandMarcus, , Emmettluver2010, winxgirl1997, Nina the Keyblader Mistress, Writteninthestars08, Lady Syndra, Maya95, Dream-4-3v3r, , TeamGilbert, weekendrusher, Guest, Elyssa, Luli Cullen, Rissa7896, TooChey, Jenna, Guest, Sage Londyn, Little-doodle-laura5663, Alexstarlight18, Hurricane.'97, LilithJade4, belladu57, shippolove844, starrysky7, kaylee Adkins loves 1D, xo-WolfGirl-xo, Miss-Understood, Guest, Guest, ddluzelle, rosa and lilredwolf82 for reviewing. I hope you all liked this chapter and I can't wait to hear what you all think. Happy reading =}_


	28. Brave New World:Part 1

**Brave New World~Part 1**

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><p>Marissa snapped her eyes open as she sat up in bed and gasped for breath. She glanced around the dimly lit hospital room with a whimper as she looked for Tyler. He was laying with her when she closed her eyes but now after waking up from that horrible nightmare he was gone... or was it a nightmare? It felt so real, but why would Elena or a Elena look-alike named Katherine want to kill her? Why would she need to give Damon and Stefan a message? None of it made any sense to her and she needed Tyler to tell her it was all just a dream, that everything was ok.<p>

When she heard the toilet flush off to the side where the private bathroom for the room was located, she turned her head and held her breath, wondering who would be coming out of it, then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Tyler leave the bathroom.

When Tyler saw the look on her face and heard her tearful cry when she called out his name, he rushed to her side, asking her what was wrong.

"Rissa, what's wrong?" Tyler asked again, when she begin to cry. She tried to explain to him about her dream, but was crying to hard to form complete sentences. He rested his hand on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him, as he added,"shh, it's ok. Just breathe with me, you're ok."

Marissa looked into his eyes and took a breath when he took one. The two breathed in and out a few times until she was calm enough to speak.

"I-I had this terrible dream. I woke up and you were g-gone but Elena was here, although she said she wasn't Elena and then she-she placed a pillow over my face." Marissa tearfully explained, then added,"then I woke up and you were gone like in my dream so I thought ... "

"Shh, it's ok. It was only a bad dream." Tyler said, when he saw she was about to cry again.

"It was-it was so real." Marissa mumbled.

"But it's not. You're ok." Tyler said, as he wrapped her arms around her and pulled her toward him. He kissed the top of her head then rested his chin where he just kissed as he said again."you're ok."

Marissa nodded her head, she knew he was right. No matter how real it felt, there was no way that really happened. She laid her head in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes as she felt herself begin to relax. She took a deep breath then slowly released it. Her eyebrows lowered in confusion when she caught a whiff of something, it smell like blood, but what was even more confusing was she could feel her mouth watering. It was like her body was craving it, but that made no sense at all.

Without even thinking, she lifted her head a little then leaned forward to press her lips against Tyler's neck. She kissed on his neck a few times, hearing him quietly moan at feeling her lips against his skin. He grabbed her chin to force her to look at him before his lips captured hers for a heated kiss.

The two kissed a few moments longer until she kissed across his jaw and made her way back down to his neck. She nibbled on it a few times and felt the craving for blood again hit her, only this time she felt a pain in her mouth, like something was being pushing out of her gums. She quickly pulled back and placed a hand over her mouth as she groaned out in pain.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" Tyler asked concern when he saw tears fill her eyes.

"My-my gums. They hurt, they hurt so bad Ty." Marissa cried, then screamed out as the pain intensified.

Tyler jumped up from the bed, worried about her. He had no idea why her mouth would be hurting. "Stay here. I'll go grab a doctor." He said, as he rushed out of the room, looking for help.

Marissa cried out again then stood up from the bed as she made her way across the room to a small mirror on the wall by the bathroom door. She turned on the small light at the mirror so she could see better, but as soon as the light clicked on, she squeezed her eyes shut and cried out as the bright light begin to hurt her eyes.

She felt along the wall to turn the light back off then opened her eyes back up as she leaned toward the mirror and opened her mouth to get a closer look inside but couldn't see anything sticking out from her gums.

"Aw lover boy is so cute. He's running all around the hospital looking for a doctor." She heard someone say. She quickly turned around and was surprised to see Elena. But why was she there? It was just a dream earlier, she shouldn't be there.

"Elena?" Marissa asked surprised.

The curly-headed brunette rolled her eyes as she said,"we've already been through this. I'm Katherine."

"But... wait...what?" Marissa asked confused.

"Please don't tell me you are always this slow." Katherine said, as she folded her arms across her chest feeling annoyed.

"But, it was only a dream." Marissa mumbled.

"Afraid not." Katherine said back.

"No, it was. I know it was. You said Tyler was out making a call, but he came out of the bathroom when I woke up." Marissa pointed out, trying to poke holes in her story. "When I woke up, meaning it was all a dream." She added, feeling sure about herself.

"Ok apparently you are always this slow." Katherine said with a sigh. She took a step toward the younger blonde then said,"let me explain it to you, but I'm only going to do it once so pay attention."

"After the terrible wreck that almost ended your life, you were fed vampire blood. Now while boyfriend was out making a call, I came in, killed you and while you were passed out boyfriend came back in, never suspected a thing, I guess he's as slow as you are." Katherine said sarcastically, then continued to explain,"then he went to the bathroom, you woke up and now your a vampire."

"Or you will be once you drink this." She added, as she held out a blood bag.

Marissa looked down at the blood bag, she didn't know how she didn't notice it in her hands earlier, especially since now the smell of it was hitting her, making her want to drink it so badly.

"Go ahead. You know you want it." Katherine teased when she saw the look on the younger girl's face.

Marissa stared at the bag as she shook her head to argue. She tried to take a step back but couldn't make herself step away from it. She bit her bottom lip, fighting with herself to not drink it, but no matter what she tried to tell herself, she couldn't stop herself from reaching out and grabbing the bag from Katherine's hand and pouring the blood into her mouth.

As soon as the blood hit her mouth, she felt like she was going to throw up cause of the taste, but the weird thing was she also kind of liked it. She sat down on the edge of the hospital bed as she leaned over and begin to gag. Once the sick feeling past, the craving kicking back in again. She sat back up and begin to drink from the bag again, sucking down every drop like she couldn't get enough.

When the bag was empty, she wiped at her mouth then looked up at Katherine with her fangs out. She reached up and touched her face, surprised at what she felt. It was true, she was a vampire now.

Katherine took the empty bag from her hands then turned to leave the room before Tyler and a doctor returned. She was almost to the door when Marissa spoke out and asked,"why are you doing this?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out when the time is right." Katherine said vaguely.

"Don't forget to give the Salvatores my message." She added with a evil smile before turning around and walking out the door. Her high heels clicking against the floor as she walked down the hallway.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After assuring Tyler and the doctor that she was ok, she laid back down saying she needed to rest and tried to send Tyler home. He couldn't understand why she wanted him to leave. She played it off as he needed to go be with his mom, but really she needed him out of there cause hearing his blood rush through his veins was driving her crazy. He finally agreed to leave but was still confused on the way she was acting.

Once she was alone, she sat up and looked around the darkish room. The sun was slowly starting to rise and a small stream of sun came through the window right above her head, giving the room a small bit of light. She looked up at it then cautiously reached up to touch the sunlight. She hissed out in pain and quickly dropped her hand when the sun begin to burn her skin.

With lightening quick speed she jumped out of bed and rushed to the other side of the room to pull the curtains all the way closed, not allowing in any sun. She glanced around the dark room and took a deep breath as it all hit her at once that this was her life now. Hiding out in dark rooms, staying away from everyone she loves. Her life would never be the same again.

She walked back over to the bed and laid down again, staring up at the ceiling as different emotions hit her at once. Confusion on why this happened to her, anger at what she was now, happiness that she was ok and didn't really die as well as many more thoughts one right after another. It was like she was going through the five stages of grief all at once. Then she was hit with confusion again when things she didn't remember happening begin to cross her mind. Like Stefan attacking her at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and Damon making her forget it.

She closed her eyes and lowered her eyebrows in confusion as another scene hit her, something that she knew never happened or did it?

_"God, I can't believe how close I came to losing you tonight." Jeremy said, as he placed his other hand on her other cheek then added,"I never want to lose you Rissa, I can't ever lose you."_

_"I never want to lose you either Jer." Marissa said softly, as she rested her forehead against his before whispering,"I love you Jeremy."_

_"What?" Jeremy asked her, as he raised his head and looked at her in surprise._

_"I love you." Marissa repeated, then she rambled on,"It's something that's been on my mind lately, but I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, but after tonight I am sure. I know I'm just your friend and you might not feel the same or maybe you do I don't know. But I just had to tell you, I wanted you to know, I..."_

_Jeremy suddenly pulled her face closer to his as he pressed his lips against her to stop her from talking, he knew it would feel like heaven to kiss her again, but the kiss was more then he could have ever hoped it to be. Marissa felt a tingle from her head to her toes, as she placed her hand on the back of his neck and twirled his hair around her fingers as he deepened the kiss._

_Once the kiss was over, Jeremy looked at her and said,"I love you too Rissa."_

_"Really?" Marissa asked with a small smile._

_"I have loved you since I kissed you for the first time three years ago." Jeremy admitted._

_"Why didn't you tell me?" Marissa asked him._

Marissa heard a knock at the door and could now remember seeing Damon walk in, then he compelled her and Jeremy to forget everything. When she heard another knock she snapped her eyes opened and realized someone was knocking at her hospital door.

Lost somewhere between a memory and now, she saw the door open and almost expected to see Damon again, like that night, but instead it was Jeremy who walked into the room with a smile on his face when he saw her sitting up in the bed.

"Hey sleepy head. You finally awake?" Jeremy teased as he walked over toward her.

He leaned down to give her a hug and a friendly kiss on the cheek like he normally would, but before he could, she scooted over to get away from him as she asked,"what are you doing?"

"Just saying hey. What's wrong with you?" Jeremy asked confused, as he sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"N-nothing, sorry, I-I don't know why I asked that." Marissa stuttered out.

"Did you not sleep well last night?" Jeremy asked with a worried expression.

"I slept ok." Marissa answered, then added when she saw the look on his face,"don't worry so much Jer, I'm ok."

Jeremy shook his head as he looked down. She might say she was ok, but he could tell she wasn't. There was something bothering her and it was more than just she almost died in a car wreck, it was something else cause yesterday before he left she was fine. He knew he should have came back to her last night, not only so he could watch over her but also then he wouldn't have been 'killed' by Damon when he snapped his neck last night.

He leaned forward to grab her hand, taking her by surprise when she felt a tingle at his touch. Even her palms begin to sweat which was something that had never happened when he held her hand even though it was something they had done a lot growing up.

"I know you say you're ok, but I know you better than that Ris. Something is different with you, I don't know what it is yet but you know no matter what is going on, I'm here for you. I am always here for you Rissa." He said, as he looked into her eyes.

Marissa swallowed hard as she felt her heart skip a beat as he stared into her eyes, which was also something new. Without saying anything, she turned her head to break eye contact and pulled her hand away from his, taking him by surprise. She had never pulled away from him before.

"Ok seriously, what is going on with you?" Jeremy asked her with a shocked expression still on his face. "And don't lie to me." He added when she opened her mouth to say 'nothing'.

She sighed then begin to say,"ok. You're right Jer, there is something different. I just... I don't know how to explain it. I don't know where to even start."

"Start at the beginning." Jeremy suggested.

Marissa opened her mouth to do just that, but before she could say a word there was another knock at the door, followed by a nurse coming in to check on her, interrupting the two teens.

Marissa laid her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes as the nurse checked her vitals and checked on the IV in her arm. She could feel Jeremy standing close by and tried to keep her hand from twitching as he softly caressed the back of her hand as it laid on the bed by her side. She figured the best thing she could do was pretend she had fallen asleep, which is what she did even after the nurse left, that way she wouldn't have to explain anything or answer any more questions.

In her opinion it was a good plan and it would have worked too if it wasn't for Caroline rushing inside the room with a excited squeal, causing her to jump and snap her eyes open.

"Oh, my God, you have no idea how good it is to see you." Caroline said happily, as she rushed over to the bed and wrapped her arm around her little sister, giving her a big hug.

Marissa chuckled as she blew Caroline's hair away from her mouth then said,"it's great to see you too, Care."

After the hug, Caroline straightened up then looked around the dark hospital room with a look of disgust on her face. She looked back at Marissa as she asked,"why do you have it so dark in here? Don't you want to let in some warm sun?"

Caroline didn't wait for her to answer as she looked at Jeremy and said,"go open up the curtains for her. I bet it'll make her feel better."

"No! Don't!" Marissa snapped, as she sat straight up in bed. She saw the concern look on both of their faces then added,"I'm ok with no sun right now. I'm enjoying the darkness."

"Are you ok?" Jeremy asked her, as he walked back over to her bedside.

"Mm-hm." Marissa answered with a nod.

She looked over at Caroline, seeing that she had a her regular clothes instead of a hospital gown then said to quickly changed the subject,""I take it they let you out."

"Yeah I was just released and the first thing I did... well after changing out of that awful gown was come see you." Caroline said, as she smiled at her sister.

Marissa smiled back, happy to finally see her sister with her own eyes. Everyone told her she was ok, but it was nice seeing it for herself.

"Any idea when I get to leave?" Marissa asked her.

"The doctor told mom as long as nothing happens, which he feels like nothing will since you're healing a lot quickly then they thought, which is a good thing..." Caroline rambled, then added,"anyway, you should be able to leave tomorrow morning."

"Morning?" Marissa asked, starting to panic a little. She couldn't leave in the morning, the sun would kill her before she even made it to the car.

"But if the doctor is so happy with the way I'm healing why can't I leave tonight?" She added.

"Why tonight?" Jeremy asked confused on why she wanted to leave so soon. He knew she was never a fan of hospitals but it seemed like more than that, she looked like she was about to go into a full blown panic about it.

"I think I know what is going on." Caroline said.

"You do?" Marissa asked, scared she had figured it all out. She hated keeping something like being a vampire from her sister, but what was worse was her knowing she was a vampire. She was not prepared for that yet. She wasn't even use to the idea of being one, how did she expect her sister or anyone else to be ok with it. What if they all turned on her? Or worst... what if one of them drove a stake through her heart and killed her before she even fully had a chance to live. She was to young to die.

Marissa was so lost in her own thoughts she almost didn't hear Caroline when she answered,"you don't want to miss the carnival tonight. That's it right?"

Marissa took a deep breath and slowly released it, relieved to hear that her secret was still safe. She opened her mouth to tell Caroline she was right, but before she could say a word, the nurse from before rushed back inside the room.

"What's going on in here?" She asked, then added as she walked over to look at the machine that was hooked up to the younger girl,"her vitals are all over the place. You two need to leave, she needs to rest and calm down."

Caroline and Jeremy quickly apologized, they didn't mean to upset her. The two gave her a hug as Caroline promised to fill her in on everything that happens at the carnival and Jeremy promising he will visit her again later that night, but most importantly they both told her to calm down. Everything was ok.

Marissa gave them a small smile as she waved good-bye to them. If only they really knew what was going on, they would not be so quick to say everything was ok.

After they were gone, she laid back against the pillow and took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She could hear the nurse checking over her again. Then as she leaned over her to took a closer look, Marissa felt her mouth water as she heard the blood rushing through nurse's veins, causing her to snapped her eyes open and look at the nurse.

"Are you ok?" The nurse asked her, then added when Marissa nodded her head,"are you getting hungry?"

"Starving." Marissa answered, as she felt her fangs coming out.

The nurse smiled at her then turned to walk across the room and grab a clipboard to write her vitals down. She kept her back to the bed as she said,"don't worry sweetie, they should be bringing in breakfast in about ten minutes or so."

Once she was done, she laid the clipboard down then turned around and gasp in surprise when she saw Marissa standing before her. Her fangs out and her face transformed into something she had never seen before.

"Unfortunately for you, I can't wait that long." Marissa snarled, as she grabbed a handful of the nurse's hair and pulled her head to the side, giving her better access to her neck, then without a second thought she leaned forward to bite in to her, greedily drinking her blood.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hello all =} I am so happy that so many of you are liking the idea of Rissa becoming a vampire instead of Caroline. For the ones who don't, I sincerely apologize but this is something I thought about for awhile and I am very excited to go in this direction. There will be times I will copy and follow the Caroline storyline, but I am going to try to change things up and throw in different things to make it my own. I really hope you all enjoy it. Speaking of enjoying it, I hope you all liked this chapter. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to xo-WolfGirl-xo, shippolove844, RHatch89, TooChey, Lady Syndra, roses and violets, ForgeandGred4Ever, Mona, Annabeth121, Bronzelove, Mimi81, Alexstarlight18, winxgirl1997, kaylee Adkins loves 1D, IdaRose89, patrishis, Lucy Greenhill, rosa, Marie Katherine, Dream-4-3v3r, Daily Sinner, koipond-tea, BunnyMooMooMonster, BooHooMtDew and all the guest for reviewing. Thank you all again, you have no idea how happy it makes me that people are still loving this story =} Happy reading! _


	29. Brave New World:Part 2

**Brave New World~Part 2**

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><p>After drinking a good bit of blood, Marissa pulled back with a gasp. She couldn't believe she had just did that. She just drank blood from someone. She was a monster, a vicious blood-drinking monster.<p>

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Marissa immediately apologized. She locked eyes with the nurse, not realizing she was compelling her as she begged,"please don't tell anyone. Please!"

"I won't tell anyone." The nurse repeated in a monotone voice.

Marissa took a step back in surprise, wondering what was going on until she thought back again to the times she was compelled by both Stefan and Damon.

A smile appeared on her face as she said,"you have to do what I say. I can make you do anything."

"I'll do anything." The nurse said in the same tone as before.

Marissa looked over at the alarm clock that was by the bed and saw she still had awhile until the sun went down, but at least once it did go down she would be able to bust out of the hospital. Now she just had to keep herself distracted until the night time.

She glanced over at the nurse and felt her mouth water when she saw a trail of blood slide down her neck. She knew she shouldn't drink from her again, she knew it was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself from walking back over to her.

"I'm sorry." Marissa mumbled, before she latched on to her neck again, drinking more of her blood.

For the rest of the day she tried to fight the craving but still drank from nurse a couple of times then spent hours later beating herself up for it. She finally compelled the nurse to grab her a blood bag which made her feel a little better. At least with a bag she wasn't drinking straight from a human, that had to be better right?

Hours later, she changed into the blue striped tank top, crop denim jacket and blue jeans that Caroline had left for her to change into when she was released then compelled the nurse to get her released now instead of the next morning. She apologized to the nurse again, compelling her to forget everything then called herself a cab and made her way to the school to attend the carnival that Caroline worked so hard to put together.

Once at the school, she walked toward the back where everything was set up and glanced around at all of her sister's hard work. Everything looked amazing, which really didn't surprise her. Caroline was good at putting school events together, she wasn't Miss Mystic Falls for nothing.

"Rissa?" She heard someone say, causing her to spin around to see who it was. She smiled when she saw it was Caroline behind her.

"Hey Care!" Marissa said happily.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were getting released in the morning." Caroline said, then added,"I can't believe mom didn't tell me you were getting out tonight."

"It just happened. The doctor said I'm all better and let me leave." Marissa lied.

"Shouldn't you be at home though? You should be resting, Ris." Caroline said. She didn't want her sister to over do it and tire herself out. She opened her mouth to offer to run her home until a thought hit her and instead she asked,"wait, how did you even get here?"

"I took a cab." Marissa admitted and waited for the lecture she knew was coming.

"What? Why didn't you call me? I would have came and picked you up." Caroline said. She always worried about her little sister going off on her own, but now that she was a vampire, Marissa knew she didn't have to worry about anyone messing with her. She could take care of herself, of course she couldn't tell her sister that though.

"I knew you would be busy with the carnival." Marissa explained. Which was true, but she also didn't want Caroline to find out how she compelled the nurse to leave the hospital. "Everything looks great by the way." She added, knowing if she complimented her sister it would distracted her enough to stop asking questions she couldn't answer right now.

"You really think so?" Caroline asked, as she glanced around with a uncertain look on her face.

"Yeah, you did a great job Care." Marissa said honestly, making her feel better about everything.

"Thanks." Caroline said, as she flashed her sister a smile.

Before the sisters could say anything else, they heard someone calling for Caroline, needing her assistance with something. Caroline groaned, her job was never done.

"I need to go grab some more prizes for the ring toss. I'll talk to you later." Caroline said, as she begin to walk away backwards then called out,"go have fun, but don't over do it ok?"

"Ok, I won't." Marissa promised her, as she flashed her a smile and waved good-bye.

After Caroline turned around and continued to walk away, Marissa turned around as well and slammed into someone. She felt the person grabbed her arms to hold her up and felt goosebumps on her skin from the contact. She glanced up and bit her bottom lip when she saw it was Jeremy that she had slammed into.

"Ris? Hey! I didn't know you were getting released tonight." Jeremy said with a smile on his face. After his run-in with Damon it was nice to see her smiling face.

Marissa looked down at his lips, remembering what it felt like when they kissed, then quickly took a step back from him. She shouldn't be thinking about that, it was a months ago and she was with Tyler, who she loved a lot. She couldn't think about that, she wouldn't think about it again.

"Yeah, I couldn't stand being there any longer and since I'm all better now I was released." Marissa said, as she folded her arms across her chest and avoided looking at him as much as possible. She figured it was best to avoid contact until all the confusion she had been feeling since waking up a vampire disappeared. Besides it was easier lying to him if he couldn't read her expressions.

"Well hey, since you're here we can go ride the ferris wheel." Jeremy suggested, as he reached out to grab her hand, but was surprised when she pulled away from him.

"No!" Marissa snapped. She instantly felt guilty for lashing out at him when she saw the look on his face. She shot him a small smile then added,"I'm sorry. I just mean I don't want to go on the ferris wheel."

"Since when? You've always loved riding it. You usually have to beg me to ride it with you." Jeremy pointed out with a confused expression, wondering what was going on with her.

"I just.. I don't want to." Marissa said vaguely.

"Are you ok?" Jeremy asked with a concern look, as he took a step toward her. She was acting really weird, and had been since she woke up, but he couldn't figure out why. A thought hit him for a brief moment and he wondered if she was turned into a vampire somehow. She did have Damon's blood in her system but she had never died. Besides that was just a crazy thing to think. With all the other vampires running around he was just being paranoid.

"Yeah, I'm good." Marissa said, as she ran a hand through her hair and glanced around, avoiding his eyes again. She looked back over at Jeremy, feeling bad for the way she was acting but she needed to get away from him. Things were just to confusing right now.

"I'm sorry. I-I got to go." She added, as she shot him a apologetic smile before turning around and rushing off, ignoring him as he called out her name.

She quickly made her way inside the empty school, just needing a minute or two alone. She leaned back against a bank of lockers and took several deep breaths, trying to control her emotions.

She turned around and in a fit of rage punched the locker she had been leaning against, bending the door and causing it to fall to the floor with a loud bang.

With wide eyes she slowly backed away from the locker, she couldn't believe she had lost control that badly. She knew she really needed to calm down before the next thing she hurt was a person instead of a locker.

She quickly ran down the hallway, glancing behind her to make sure no one saw what she did to the locker, then turned a corner and came face to face with Damon.

"Hey mini-Forbes. You finally busted out of the hospital I see." Damon joked, as he looked down at the younger blonde.

"Actually I did." Marissa said, then added,"well more like compelled my way out, but same thing I guess."

"Wait.. what?" Damon asked, as he lowered his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, that's right. I know all about compulsion now Damon." Marissa said, then added,"like the times you were a dick to my sister then compelled me to forget or the time your brother almost killed me but you compelled me to forget that too."

The more she thought about the times her memories had been erased, the more angry she became. She poked Damon in his chest as she said angrily,"oh and let's not forget about the time you messed with mine and Jeremy's memories and screwed around with our feelings."

Damon rolled his eyes then said,"ok now you're just being dramatic. All I did was take away the suffering, that was all that I did. Trust me I don't care enough about your teenage drama to get involved."

"Who told you about all of this?" Damon asked, wondering who finally clued her in on everything. If he had to guess he would say it was Jeremy, meaning he was going to have to have another chat with little Gilbert about keeping his mouth shut.

"No one told me. I'm remembering it all, little by little." Marissa answered.

"You can't remember." Damon said with a chuckle, then added,"it's impossible, I mean unless you're becoming a..."

When he paused and looked at her with wide eyes, she smiled then said,"that's right. I'm one of you now, Damon."

Marissa laughed as he continued to look at her in shock, she turned around to walk away then snapped her fingers as she remembered there was something else she was suppose to tell him. She turned back around and said,"oh yeah, I almost forget. Katherine said _'game on'_."

She flashed him a smug smile then turned to walk away until he reached out to grab her arm to stop her as he called out a,"wait." She laid her hands on his chest and used all of her new found strength to push him back, catching him off guard and causing him to slide down the hall.

"You suck!" Marissa snapped, as she turned around and walked away for good, leaving a worried Damon behind.

He knew what happened last time a new female vampire was running around town and that was the last thing they needed right now. As much as he hated to do it, he knew what had to be done and surprisingly he didn't like it. He actually liked mini-Forbes. Besides he knew it would upset Elena and the sheriff, who he considered a friend.

With a heavy sigh he stood up from the floor. He knew what he had to do and the sooner the better.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After her run-in with Damon, Marissa made her way back outside and smiled when she saw Tyler, who was cheering his uncle on as he arm wrestled with one of her class mates. No matter how confusing things were now with Jeremy, at the end of the day she did love Tyler and right now she needed him more then ever after the horrible day she had been having.

With that thought in mind, she made her way over toward him and snuck up behind him to place her hands over his eyes as she whispered in his ear,"guess who?"

"Rissa?" Tyler said, instantly recognizing her voice. He turned around with a confused yet happy expression on his face. The last he heard she wasn't getting out until the next morning but either way he was excited to see her.

"God, it's good to see you." Tyler said happily, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, lifting her off the ground briefly. The last time he saw her, she was complaining about her mouth hurting and was freaking out a little, but now she seemed like her old self again and he couldn't be happier.

"I missed you." Marissa mumbled into his shirt, as he continued to hold her.

The two pulled away when they heard loud cheering and saw Mason win the arm wrestling match he was in the middle of when she walked up. When he saw the couple, he stood up and walked over to them with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Uncle Mason, you remember Marissa Forbes right?" Tyler asked his uncle, as he nodded toward his girlfriend.

"Right, I remember. You look very different now though." Mason said with a secret smile, making her wonder if he knew exactly what she was now.

She quickly pushed that thought aside though, there was no way he could know. She held out a hand to shake his, then with a smile said,"yeah it's been a long time since you last visited."

Mason nodded his head then said,"yeah, but I keep up to date on what goes on in town even when I'm not here."

Marissa lowered her eyebrows in confusion when he shot her the same look again. Like he knew her deepest and darkest secret. But before she could think about it to much longer, the look was gone and he was flashing a friendly smile as he added,"my knuckle-headed nephew here told me all about you two. I can't believe someone was finally able to tie him down."

"What can I say I'm crazy about her." Tyler said with a smile, as he glanced over at Marissa, who smiled back at him.

"Well hopefully you two can make it work. Most high school romances don't. I guess some people are just not meant to be." Mason pointed out, as he shot another look toward Marissa when Tyler wasn't looking.

"We'll be just fine." Marissa said back, as she shot him a look back and wrapped a arm around Tyler. Before Mason could say anything back, she turned to look at Tyler and asked,"can we talk?"

"Yeah." Tyler answered, then he look at his uncle and said,"I'll catch up with you later."

Mason nodded his head and watched as the two walked off with a unreadable expression on his face before turning around and walking off in the opposite direction.

Marissa dragged Tyler toward a empty restroom then pulled him inside with her. She locked the door then turned around to face him as she leaned back against the door.

"So what did you want to talk about? Is everything ok?" Tyler asked with a concern look on his face. He hoped she wasn't feeling bad again and needed to go back to the hospital.

Marissa nodded her head as she stepped away from the door and said,"I actually lied. I don't need to talk."

"Then what do you need?" Tyler asked.

"You. Just you, Ty." Marissa answered with a smile on her face, as she laid her hands on his shoulders.

Tyler smiled back at her words before leaning forward to press his lips against hers for a gentle kiss. After all she had been through he didn't want to be to rough with her, but apparently she had other ideas.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise when she ran her fingers through his hair as the kiss quickly being to heat up. She pulled back a little to look at him as she ran her hands down his chest then slipped them under his coat to remove it. When she heard it hit the floor, she reached forward to grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it off, dropping it on the floor with the coat.

She leaned forward to leave light kisses across his chest, causing him to softly groan and asked,"not that I'm complaining but what has gotten into you?"

"Nothing." Marissa answered, as she pulled back to look up at him then added,"do you have a problem with me having hot bathroom sex with my boyfriend?"

"Not at all." Tyler said with a grin, as he leaned forward to capture her lips again.

He removed the denim jacket she was wearing then laid his hands on her butt to pick her up as he nibbled on the side of her neck. She groaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist and felt him sit her down on top of he counter by the sink. He pushed aside one of the straps of the top she was wearing and kissed across her bare shoulder, giving her goosebumps every time his lips made contact with her skin.

Missing his lips against hers, she gripped his hair and turned his head to face her before pressing her lips against his for a passionate kiss. After the two kissed for a few more minutes, she kissed across his jaw and down the side of his neck.

She pulled back a little with a small gasp when she heard his blood rushing through his veins. She squeezed her eyes shut as she quietly whimpered,"not now. Please not now."

She took several deep breaths but it didn't help, no matter what she did she still felt her fangs coming out. She opened her eyes and looked at his neck, it was like his blood vessels were taunting her. Telling her to drink just a little, just a little bit would be ok.

"No, no, no." Marissa mumbled, as tears begin to fill her eyes. She didn't want to do it, especially to Tyler, but it was so hard and getting harder the longer she was in this position.

"No!" She yelled, as she pushed him back and jumped down from the counter.

"Is everything ok?" Tyler asked, confused about her actions.

"We can't... I-I can't... I got to go." Marissa stuttered, as she grabbed her jacket from the floor and avoided his eyes.

"Whoa, just hold on for a minute. What's wrong?" Tyler asked, as he reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let me go." Marissa said as calmly as she could, as she looked down at the floor.

"No. Not until you tell me what is going on." Tyler said, as he held on to her arm. She had never acted like this before and frankly she was scaring the hell out of him.

"Let me go." Marissa repeated, still avoiding him.

"Rissa..." He begin to say, trying to plead with her to talk to him.

"Let me go." Marissa yelled out, as she jerked her arm away then laid her hands on his chest to push him away.

She gasped in surprise when she realized she pushed him to hard and caused him to slam into the wall. She went to take a step toward him and apologize but he held up his hand to stop her.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is right now, but when my girlfriend come back tell her to give me a call." Tyler snapped, as he grabbed his shirt from the floor and threw it back on.

"Ty, I am so sorry..."

He scoffed at her tearful apologize, he was not in the mood for this right now. He already had enough problems with his own mood swings, he didn't think he could handle hers too. He was already having a hard time now at not snapping at her, but he wasn't going to lose his temper. Not with her. With his coat in his hand, he turned away from her and took several deep breaths.

When he heard her apologize again, he shook his head then said,"I can't do this right now Ris. I can't talk to you right now or I'm scared I'm going to say something I'll regret."

"Ok." Marissa whispered, as she wiped a lone tear from her face.

"I'll call you tomorrow." Tyler mumbled, as he walked over to the door and unlocked it.

Marissa stayed silent as she watched him walk out of the restroom. She wished she could run after him and explain everything, but she couldn't.

She couldn't tell him she was a vampire now or that earlier she wanted to drink him dry, he would think she was crazy and run away screaming. No this was for the best. It was better to let him go cool off then they could talk later.

She just had to do better job about controlling herself, that's all she needed, to control herself. If she couldn't she feared what would happen to her. If she couldn't be a vampire then what would happen to her? How would she live a eternity as a vampire if she couldn't control herself. She was to young to die but to much of a monster to live.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hello readers! Sorry it took so long for a new chapter, but I hope you all liked it. The rest of the carnival stuff will happen in the next chapter. I had a lot planned for it and was trying not to rush through it, so hopefully it doesn't feel rushed if so I apologize. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to Lucy Greenhill, Alexstarlight18, RHatch89, winxgirl1997, shippolove844, roses and violets, kaylee Adkins loves 1D, Lady Syndra, Nina the Keyblader Mistress, BunnyMooMooMonster, rosa, Bronzelove, TeamGilbert, Salvatore'sGirl4eva, Guest, CandyCaneKisses101, Guest, kblatz, unhappycrazygirl and IdaRose89 for reviewing. Happy Reading! _

_p/s - Thank you all so so much for getting this story to having over 300 reviews! That is so amazing and makes me so happy. So thank you to each and everyone of you =}_


	30. Brave New World:Part 3

**Brave New World~Part 3**

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><p>Marissa waited a few minutes until her craving for blood went away, then she left the restroom feeling more in control. She wandered through the crowd as she looked for her sister, hoping she could give her a quick ride home. All she wanted was to sleep and forget this horrible night ever happened.<p>

She walked toward the parking lot then paused when she saw Damon hiding behind a couple of bushes and looking at something in the parking lot. She knew she should just ignore him and continue on looking for Caroline, but her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't stop herself from walking over toward him.

"What are you doing?" Marissa hissed out, as she stood behind him, taking him by surprise.

"First rule of being a vampire, don't sneak up on other vampires." Damon snapped back. He glanced behind his shoulder to look at her as he added,"although if you ask me, I don't think you will make it as a vampire."

"Well lucky for me I didn't ask you." Marissa snapped back.

Damon softly chuckled, admiring her spunk, then turned his head back to look out at the parking lot as he watched Brad approach Tyler, who was walking across the parking lot heading for his car. Earlier after seeing how strong Mason was at arm wrestling, he even beat Stefan, Damon had compelled Brad to pick a fight with Tyler to see what would happen. They needed to know what the Lockwoods were since they knew they weren't vampires.

Marissa, still wondering what he was doing, walked over to stand beside him. She quietly gasp when she saw Brad push Tyler. She took a step to go join them and stop him before a fight broke out but before she could move, Damon reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Uh-uh, don't do it. Let's see what will happen." Damon said to her.

"Why are you being creepy?" Marissa snapped.

"Why are you being bitchy?" Damon snapped back.

"Let's think about that, could it be cause I died?" Marissa asked sarcastically, then added before he could say a word,"yeah I think it could be. Having a Elena imposter turning me into a blood sucking, emotional vampire is making me a little bitchy so excuse me if I offended you, Damon."

"I see someone got a fresh batch of sass along with their new fangs." Damon said, then added,"not sure if I like it or not."

"Well I'm sure that I don't care what you think." Marissa said back, then added,"what I do care about though is Tyler and I'm not just going to stand here and watch that asshole Brad pick a fight with him."

She pulled her arm from Damon's hand then said,"now if you'll excuse me."

"Wait!" Damon hissed, as he grabbed her arm again to stop her.

The two looked and saw Mason step in between the two boys and stop the fight. She gasped in surprise when Brad punched Mason and pushed him, causing him to fall over a car and land with a hard thud on the ground. When she saw Brad push Tyler down she felt her anger rising, no one messed with her boyfriend and got away with it.

"That's it." Marissa hissed, as she went to take a step until they saw Mason jump over the car and land in front of Tyler. She heard Tyler gasp and comment about Mason's eyes, but from where she and Damon were standing they couldn't see his eyes.

They continued to watch and saw Mason punch Brad, knocking him to the ground, then Mason grabbed Tyler and the two ran off. Marissa looked over at Damon as she asked,"what just happened?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Damon mumbled.

Marissa looked back over at Brad, who was still sitting on the ground with a confused look on his face. She had seen that look before on herself, during one of the many times she was compelled. That confusing moment when you know something happened but you can't remember it. It's like you blacked out but you don't even remember doing that. In that moment she knew what happened. Someone compelled Brad to go after Tyler and she had a good idea who did it.

She looked back over to Damon, planning to give him a piece of her mind but was surprised to see he was gone. She groaned angrily when she realized she wouldn't be able to question him, but there was someone she could maybe get an answer or two from. She looked back at the parking lot at Brad then begin to walk over toward him.

"Hey, you ok?" Marissa asked with a concern look. Brad was not her favorite person, not after the time he came on to her and attacked her at the grill during Stefan's birthday party, but she still felt bad for him for being used for whatever Damon had planned.

Brad slowly nodded his head as he looked up at her with a confused look still on his face. She held out a hand then pulled him up to his feet when he grabbed her hand.

Once he was up, he held on to her hand as he looked at her with a smug smile then said,"you just can't stay away from me can you. I guess Tyler's not the man you thought he was and now you want a piece of Brad."

She wrinkled up her nose in disgust at his comment and opened her mouth to say something back but before she could say a word, he pulled her toward him and pressed his lips against her.

Marissa quickly shoved him away from her and wiped at her mouth as she called out,"what the hell is your problem? I was trying to be nice and see if you were ok. I didn't come over here to be mauled by an asshole."

"You know what I've noticed?" Brad asked. He didn't wait for her to answer as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her toward him as he added,"the girls who say 'no' are the ones who want it the most."

"Let go of me." Marissa screamed, as she wiggled around in his arms, trying to get away. She couldn't help but flash back to the night at the grill, it was Stefan's birthday party and Brad had cornered her in the alley. Thankfully Tyler stepped in to save her that night, but now, now she didn't need anyone to save her. She could save herself.

She laid her hands on his chest and pushed him back then raised her hand to punch him as hard as she could, causing him to fall to the ground with a painful groan. Brad spit some blood out of his mouth then looked up at her with a pissed off look on his face.

He chuckled as he stood up from the ground and said,"you like it rough I see. That's fine, I can be rough too, bitch."

Marissa took a deep breath and tried to control her carving when she saw a drop of blood fall from the cut on his lip. As much as he might deserve to be drained, she couldn't do it. She still felt guilty from drinking from the nurse at the hospital earlier, she didn't think she could handle anymore guilt. She knew what she had to do, she hard to walk away.

"I'm-I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Marissa breathed out, as she turned to walk away from him.

"Don't leave now. The fun is just starting." Brad said, as he reached out to grab her.

In a flash, Marissa spun around and grabbed a handful of his hair, tilting his head to the side as she sank her teeth into his neck. She groaned as she felt the blood sliding down her throat. It was like she had gone for days without something to drink and was finally able to have a big glass of cold water to quench her thirst. She drank greedily from his neck, ignoring the stream of blood dripping down her chin until there was nothing left to drink.

When she realized he had quit moving and was no longer breathing, she dropped him to the ground and jumped back from the dead body. She felt tears fill her eyes as she begin to gasp for air. She couldn't believe what she just did. She just killed someone.

She dropped to her knees as tears fell down her face, feeling guilt for taking a person's life. She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't hear anyone walk up to her until she heard someone softly say her name. She quickly raised her head and saw it was Damon.

"I-I don't know what happened. I was going to walk away, I swear, then he grabbed me and I-I killed him." Marissa tearfully explained, then added,"I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't mean to do it."

"It's ok." Damon said calmly, as he held out a hand to pull her up.

Once she was on her feet, she threw her arms around him to hug him as she cried out,"please help me Damon. Please help me, I can do better. I promise I will do better."

"I will. I'll make it all better, just close your eyes." Damon said regrettably, as he held out a stake behind her, He didn't want to do it, but he knew it was for the best.

"Just close your eyes. It'll be over." He whispered, as he went to lower the stake, planning to plunge it into her heart, but he froze when she raised her head to look at her with watery eyes.

"Thank you Damon. Thank you, thank you." She cried out.

"It's ok. Come here." Damon said, as he dropped the stake and cradled the back of her head as she laid her head back against his chest, clutching his shirt. He knew it was dangerous to have a new vampire running around, but he couldn't do it.

He never thought he would see the day when he begin to care for things, but yet that day was here. He didn't know when it had happened but somewhere along the way he begin to care for his old town and wanted to save it, then he begin to care for some of the people in it. Like Elena, his brother and Sheriff Forbes, who had become a good friend of his and now he was beginning to care for the youngest Forbes. She was quickly becoming like the little sister he never had but always secretly wanted.

While he tried to comfort her, Elena and Stefan ran over toward them. Elena skid to a stop and breathed out a 'oh my God' when she saw a dead body on the ground.

Marissa pulled back from Damon when she heard someone approach them, then felt her eyes widen when she saw who it was. She took a quick step back as she cried out,"no stay away from me. Just stay away from me."

"Rissa.. it's ok. Everything is going to be ok." Stefan said calmly, as he held out his hands, trying to show her he wouldn't hurt her.

"No. No, you tried to kill me. I remember it. You tried to kill me." Marissa cried, as she took another step back from Stefan.

"Rissa, he's not going to hurt you. I promise." Elena said, as she took a step toward the younger girl.

"No, he tried to kill me and you did kill me." Marissa yelled out at Elena.

"No, it wasn't me Rissa. That was Katherine." She said, then added softly,"I'm Elena. I would never hurt you Rissa, I promise, I won't hurt you."

"Elena?" Marissa mumbled, as she wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to get a better look at her.

"Yes, it's me. It's Elena, not Katherine." Elena said back.

Elena held her breath and froze for a moment when she saw Marissa rush over toward her, for a second she feared the new vampire was going to hurt her, but instead Marissa threw her arms around Elena, holding on to her as she begin to cry.

"Why did she do this? Why is this happening?" Marissa cried out.

"I don't know, but it's ok. We're going to help you. You'll get through this." Elena said, as she tried to comfort her. She pulled back to look at Marissa as she added,"let's get you home."

"No, no I can't go home. Not like this." Marissa pointed out, knowing she had blood all over her face and clothes. "I can't let Caroline see me like this or mom either." She added.

"Ok. I'll take you to my house." Elena suggested, then added,"Jenna will still be at class. We'll text Caroline and tell her you're staying with me tonight."

As Marissa nodded her head, agreeing to the idea, Elena turned her head to look at Stefan and Damon, who told her to go ahead, they would take care of the body. Elena nodded her head to thank them, then with her arm still around Marissa, she led her toward her car, whispering words of comfort the whole way.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Many minutes later the two girls arrived at the Gilbert house. Elena led Marissa into the house, planning to take her straight into the bathroom to get her cleaned up but before the girls could move, Jeremy came walking down the stairs. He froze when he saw Marissa, fearing something had happened to her, he rushed down the stairs, taking two at a time until he was in front of her.

"Oh my God. What happened? Are you ok?" Jeremy asked frantically.

Marissa lowered her head, not wanting him to see her this way, but he laid a hand on the side of her face, forcing her to look at him as he looked at her closely wanting to make sure she was ok.

When she saw the concern look on his face, she felt tears fill her eyes, she didn't deserve his concern. Not after the way she had acted and not after what she did tonight.

After seeing her begin to cry, Jeremy wrapped an arm around her waist, planning to bring her toward him to comfort her, but before he could, Elena stepped in to stop him, telling him to step back and go to his room.

"What? Why? What's going on?" Jeremy asked confused. But the longer no one answered him, he begin to get angry. Just a few days ago he almost lost his best friend, the girl he had been in love with for years and now here she stood, covered in blood while his sister telling him to stay out of it. That was not going to work, not this time, not when it involved Marissa.

He folded his arms across his chest as he asked,"what the hell is going on here?"

"Jeremy please, now is not the right time." Elena said. She hated keeping this from him, but after everything that happened that night was now really the right time to tell him? After everything Marissa had been through, was she actually ready to tell him now?

"Screw that. You've kept enough from me." Jeremy said angrily at his sister, then he looked at Marissa as he added,"if there is something going on with you, let me help. I'm here for you Ris."

"Jeremy..."

"No it's ok, Elena." Marissa said, interrupting the brunette. "I'll tell him, he deserves to know." she added, as she looked over at Jeremy.

Elena nodded her head then said,"ok, I'll be right in the kitchen. Nothing personal, but just in case you know?"

"I understand." Marissa said. She couldn't blame Elena for not trusting her alone around Jeremy now.

"So what's going on?" Jeremy asked once they were alone.

Marissa sniffed as she wiped at her face as she mumbled,"I'm such a mess."

"No you're not. You're beautiful, just like always." Jeremy said back, as he reached up to wipe a lone tear from her cheek.

"I don't deserve having you be so nice to me. Not after the way I've acted today." Marissa tearfully said. She took a deep breath then slowly released it as she said,"I'm so sorry Jer."

"It's ok. You've been through a lot lately. You almost died ..."

Marissa shook her head, interrupting him as she softly said,"I did die."

"What?" Jeremy asked.

"Deep down, I think you already know." Marissa said, then quietly admitted,"I'm a vampire."

Jeremy slowly released the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. She was right, he knew something was different about her and for a brief moment he thought vampire, but thought it was too ridiculous to be true.

"You were right. You tried to tell me vampires were real and I wouldn't believe you. I'm sorry Jeremy. I should have listened, I should have believed you." Marissa said tearfully.

"It's ok." Jeremy said. He didn't even care about any of that anymore, all he cared about was her and getting her through this.

She flashed him a small smile then said,"well now you know my big secret. I'm a vampire and now nothing will ever be the same."

"I wouldn't say nothing is the same. I mean you're still the same old Rissa." Jeremy said, then added with a smile,"you're the girl I use to climb trees with and play at the falls with."

"Don't forget about our famous mud pies." Marissa joked.

"Right, can't forget that." Jeremy said with a laugh, then added,"see, you're the same Rissa."

"I don't feel the same. Things are so confusing now." Marissa admitted.

"Confusing how?" Jeremy asked.

Marissa looked down at the floor, avoiding his eyes. She couldn't tell him about remembering their kiss. Since they were compelled and he doesn't remember it, there was no point in bringing up the past.

"I just mean things are different." Marissa answered vaguely, not wanting to go into details and was thankful when he didn't push.

"Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up." Jeremy said softly, as he held out his hand toward her.

Marissa shot him a grateful smile as she laid her hand in his. As he begin to led her toward the stairs, Elena came out of the kitchen, planning to take over until Jeremy shook his head, telling her he got it.

Elena thought about arguing for a minute, she was worried about her brother being alone with a vampire, especially one who just killed someone until she reminded herself, this was Marissa, she knew Marissa would never hurt Jeremy. She trusted that if Marissa did feel like she would going to lose control she would ask for help. If she was going to be ok with her brother being around a vampire she was going to have to trust her, although she still planned to leave her door open in case she heard any noises coming from his room in the middle of the night, but this was still a step in the right direction.

While Marissa took a shower, Jeremy grabbed one of his old t-shirt and borrowed a pair of shorts from Elena, then he asked Elena to set the clothes in the bathroom for Marissa as he waited in his room for her to come back.

Several minutes later, Marissa walked into Jeremy's bedroom and saw him pulling his comforter down on the bed. She silently watched him for a moment, the confusing feelings hitting her again as she remembered the time they kissed right in this very room on his bed. She was so lost in thought she didn't notice him turning around and seeing her standing in the doorway until he spoke up.

"Hey, there you are." Jeremy said with a smile, then pointed to the bed as he added,"you want the left side as usual?"

"Um, actually, may-maybe I should sleep on the couch or something." Marissa suggested.

"What? Why?" Jeremy asked with a surprised chuckle, then added,"we've always sleep in my bed when you've stayed over."

"I-I know, but things are... things are different now." Marissa said back.

"Why? Cause you have fangs now." Jeremy joked.

_'Well that and confusing feelings for you.'_ She thought to herself, then said out loud,"I think that's a pretty good reason why we shouldn't share a bed anymore."

"I told you, you are still the same old Ris to me. I know you wouldn't hurt me." Jeremy pointed out, as he walked over toward her.

"And what if I do? What if I can't control this?" Marissa asked softly, as her eyes welled up.

"You can and you will." Jeremy said, as he wrapped his arms around her waist to hug her. She froze for a moment, making him think she wasn't going to hug him back, he was about to pull back to question her about it until he finally felt her arms around his neck.

As she rested her forehead in the crook of his neck, he lightly rubbed her back, hoping to comfort her as he added,"you're one of the strongest people I know Ris. It's going to be hard, but I know you can do it and I'll be right here with you, helping you, every step of the way."

Marissa raised her head to nod it, accepting his help, and got a good look at his neck. When she felt her fangs coming out, she quickly pushing him away from her and turned around so he wouldn't see her.

"No, no, no. Not again. Please not again." Marissa moaned quietly, as she tried to calm herself down but wasn't having any good luck.

She ignored Jeremy as he called her name, she knew she was probably scaring him but she couldn't be around him right now. It was too dangerous. Besides she didn't want him to see her like this.

"Get away. Stay away from me." Marissa said, as she pushed his hands away when he tried to grab her.

"No it's ok. It's going to be ok." Jeremy said, as he reached out for her again.

"No it's not. I'm a monster. I'm a dangerous and terrible monster." Marissa cried, as she reached out to feel her face, then added,"why does this keep happening to my face?"

"Shh, it's ok. Rissa, it's ok. Look at me." Jeremy said, as he laid his hands on the side of her face, forcing her to look at him. "Whenever you feel yourself losing control, you tell yourself that you're going to get through it, that you're strong enough. You can do this. I know you can. Just take a deep breath. Just breathe." He added.

Marissa nodded her head as she took several deep breaths until she finally felt her face changing back and her fangs going away. She smiled as she threw her arms around Jeremy to hug him. She had done it. She fought her craving. Maybe she could do this after all.

Now she just had to work things out with Tyler and hope the confusing thoughts about Jeremy went away soon. Then things could go back to normal. At least that is what she was hoping for.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hello readers! I hope you liked this chapter. I know Damon was kinda ooc but I want him and Rissa to have a brother/sister type of relationship so that is why he changed his mind about killing her. I hope no one minds =/ Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to RHatch89, winxgirl1997, smkbaby123, unhappycrazygirl, patrishis, Lucy Greenhill, Lady Syndra, ArtemisLuna85, EmeraldSwan92 and shippolove844 for reviewing. Happy Reading!_


	31. Bad Moon Rising:Part 1

**Bad Moon Rising~Part 1**

* * *

><p>For the past couple of days since the carnival, Marissa had been locked up at the Gilbert house, more specifically Jeremy's bedroom. She didn't trust herself around people and she definitely couldn't go home. She knew Caroline and possibly even her mom would have a million of questions for her when they noticed her doing nothing but sitting in a dark room, at least at the Gilbert house, Jeremy and Elena already knew the answers, meaning she didn't have to explain anything to anyone, she could just hide in bed and not say a word.<p>

Which is what she was doing now as she laid in Jeremy's bed early one morning, peacefully sleeping until a ray of sunlight landed on her hand, which was laid on a pillow near her face, causing her skin to begin to burn. She snapped her eyes open as she cried out in pain then quickly jumped out of bed, racing across the room to a dark corner, away from the window where the stream of light was peeking in through the curtains.

Jeremy opened his eyes when he heard her cry out and as she jumped out of bed, he stood up and made his way over to the window, closing the curtain as he mumbled out a curse word. He thought he had closed them all the way shut the night before, but somehow a small ray of light still got in.

Jeremy turned around to look at her as she stayed huddled in the corner. He shot her an apologetic smile as he said,"I'm sorry Ris I thought I shut it .."

"It's ok." Marissa said, interrupting him, then added,"I guess this is just something I'm going to have to get use to."

Now with the curtain close and the whole room dark again, she left the corner she was standing in and made her way over toward the bed, sitting down on the edge with a sigh as she added,"no sun, no fun, no life."

"I know it sucks that you can't go out during the day, but you can still go out at night and have fun." Jeremy said, then suggested,"how about we go to the grill tonight, after the sun goes down. We can eat, play some pool."

"I don't know." Marissa said back, worried she would slip up and kill someone again. Brad was never her favorite person but she still felt guilty about his death.

"It'll do you good to get out of the house." Jeremy pointed out. She had not even left his room since the night of the carnival and he knew that couldn't be good for someone. She needed to get out of the house, get some fresh air and be around people or he feared she would become even more depressed then she was now.

When he saw she was still against the idea he added,"or if you don't want to go to the grill we could just go for a walk tonight. Maybe walk to the falls or something like we use to. I dunno, all I know is we need to get up and do something."

"I get it Jer, I do, I just don't know if I'm ready." Marissa pointed out. She was just so terrified that she would get out there and realize she couldn't make it as a vampire.

In the days that she had been around Jeremy, she had gotten better at controlling her cravings around him, but that was mainly cause he was there to talk her down and help her. What if she lost control and he couldn't stop her in time? What if she killed again? What if she turned on him and killed him?

She would never forgive herself if that happened. She needed more time, she wasn't ready yet.

"You won't know unless you get out there." Jeremy pushed, then without meaning to he snapped,"you can stay locked up in my room forever."

"Fine! As soon as the sun goes down tonight I'll leave and you won't have to worry about me being in your room anymore." Marissa snapped back, as she stood up from his bed.

"Matter of fact, why don't I just leave now and the bright sun will cause me to burst into flames and I'll just die. Then you won't have to worry about your stupid vampire friend anymore." She added, as she took a step toward the bedroom door.

She knew she was being over dramatic, bratty and even a little ungrateful, but she was just so miserable after being in a dark room for days, even if it was her idea, it was bringing out a bad side of her as well as Jeremy.

It was never a good idea for them to be locked up together for days, it always cause fights with them in the past, but add in a moody vampire and it made things worst. But deep down they both knew neither one meant the words that were coming out of their mouths, they were not actually mad at each other, just the situation.

"Rissa, stop!" Jeremy snapped,"you know that is not what I meant."

When she didn't stop walking, he reached out to grab her arm, turning her around and pulling her toward him. As he pulled her, she tripped on one of his dirty shirts laying in the floor, causing her to slam into his chest. He quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling and held her close to him, causing a small fluttering in her stomach.

"You ok?" Jeremy asked, as he pushed a lock of blonde hair from her face.

Marissa bit her bottom lip and felt the fluttering intensify when his finger tips lightly brushed against her cheek. The two locked eyes for a moment before she pushed away from him and took several steps away.

Moments like that could not happen with them. Even if she now remembered the kiss they shared and remembered how they confessed their love for each other, he didn't remember it, which was for the best since she still had a boyfriend, a boyfriend she loves.

When Tyler crossed her mind so did the guilt. Since being turned she had not been a good girlfriend to him. She had to stop herself from biting him at the carnival and literally pushed him away, and since then she had been avoiding him. The two had talked some on the phone, the day after the carnival where she apologized for her behavior that night, which thankfully he understood. He understood that she was feeling a little weird after her near death experience, but since then anytime he wanted to get together or hang out she had turned him down and she could tell he was getting annoyed by that.

He couldn't understand why he couldn't spend time with his girlfriend or why she was spending so much time with Jeremy. It wasn't that he thought she was cheating on him or anything, but he did feel like she was keeping something from him and he didn't like that.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Jeremy asked her again, not understanding why she was pulling away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Marissa answered, she kicked his shirt that she had tripped over earlier, then mumbled,"I just trip over your stupid shirt."

When she heard Jeremy trying to hold back a chuckle, she cut her eyes over at him, as she asked him what was so funny.

"It's just funny watching you throw a little temper tantrum." Jeremy said, as a small chuckle finally escaped.

"I'm not throwing a temper tantrum." Marissa snapped back, as she kicked the shirt again and folded her arms across her chest with a pout on her face, which only caused him to laugh more.

She sighed and unfolded her arms when she realized he was right. She shook her head then said,"ok, you're right, I am throwing a tantrum but I don't mean to. I'm just so... so frustrated. I hate this Jer, I hate it!"

"I know and I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you." Jeremy said sincerely,"I've always been able to help you, through anything, but I'm at a loss when it comes to vampires."

"You and me both." Marissa mumbled. She looked over at him then added,"but I'm sorry for taking my frustrations out on you. I know you're only trying to help."

"It's ok. This isn't the first time we have yelled at each other and it won't be the last." Jeremy pointed out, then added,"although I think you should apologize to my shirt for kicking it. That was rude."

"Shut up." Marissa said with a laugh, as she playfully punched him in the shoulder, which he didn't mind. He was just happy to see her laughing again.

The laughter didn't last long though when her cell phone beeped, letting her know she had a new text message. She walked over to the bedside table, where her phone was laying, she picked it up and read the message with a sigh.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked.

"Tyler is throwing a party at the swimming hole and of course I can't go cause of the whole 'burst into flames in the sun' thing." Marissa said with a pout, as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Which I guess is for the best since I'm still trying to get control of my cravings." She added.

"You're getting better." Jeremy pointed out, as he sat down beside her, then added,"I mean we've done a good job of getting you blood bags before your cravings get to bad right?"

"Yeah but no matter how many bags I drink, I still want fresh blood, which is bad." Marissa said, as she stood up from the bed, then admitted quietly,"this whole time we've been talking, I've wanted to drink you dry."

"But you didn't, Ris." Jeremy said, as he stood up and stood in front of her before adding,"you _are_ getting better. You can do this."

"It's hard Jeremy, it's so hard." Marissa said sadly, as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I know, but you can do this." Jeremy said. He reached forward to unfold her arms and pulled her toward him to give her a hug, then added,"and I'm going to be here beside you every step of the way, remember?"

"I know." Marissa mumbled, as she rested her head on his shoulder, glad she had him by her side.

Jeremy continued to hold her until they heard a knock at his door before it opened and Elena walked in. She froze for a moment when she saw them standing close together, worried that the new vampire was about to hurt her brother, until she realized this was Marissa, she knew the young blonde would rather die then hurt Jeremy.

"How's it going?" Elena asked them.

"Ok. I think Rissa is going stir crazy from being locked in my room for days." Jeremy answered.

"Well Jenna just left for the day and I pulled all the curtains closed. It's not much, but at least you can go into the living room." Elena suggested.

"That's great. We can watch a movie and order a pizza or something." Jeremy said, as he looked over at Marissa.

"Ok, yeah, let's do that. It beats sitting in Jeremy's smelly room all day again." Marissa said back with a chuckle.

"Hey!" Jeremy called out, acting like he was offended by the comment, which only made her laugh harder.

Once the laughter died down, she looked over at Elena and asked,"are you going to hang out with us?"

"I can't." Elena answered, then added,"I'm going to Duke with Ric, Damon and Stefan to look through Isobel's things."

"Look through her things for what?" Marissa questioned.

Elena wondered how much she should tell her. She knew it would upset her to know they were researching the Lockwood family, since she was dating Tyler. She knew it would worry Marissa and figured there was no reason to worry her until they knew more. Just cause they all assuming Mason was a werewolf, didn't meant Tyler was one too.

Thankfully before Elena could say anything, they heard the doorbell ring downstairs, announcing the Salvatore brothers arrival.

"And that would be them." Elena said, as she turned to leave the room and answer the door.

Marissa and Jeremy, still curious on what was going on, walked out of the room to follow her as she opened the door and let them in, allowing a small ray of sunlight inside. The light landed on Marissa's bare feet, causing her to hiss out in pain as she jumped back a couple of stairs where the light couldn't reach her.

"Rise and shine Gilberts." Damon said, as he walked into the house. When he saw Marissa jumped back from the sun light, he added,"well maybe no shine for you Mini-Forbes, at least not yet."

"What do you mean 'not yet'?" Elena asked him, not trusting any plan he was involved in.

"I come baring gifts." Damon announced to the group, as he gestured for someone to enter the house.

They saw Stefan walk into the house with Bonnie, which surprised them all. They knew how she felt about vampires and getting involved with them.

"What's going on?" Elena asked with a worried look, as she looked over at Bonnie. Whatever was going on she knew it couldn't be to bad if Stefan was in on it, but she still didn't trust Damon. She felt more at ease though when Stefan shot her a smile, letting her know everything was ok.

"I still think this is a bad idea." Bonnie mumbled.

"Uh-uh that's enough judgy." Damon warned her, then he looked up the stairs at Marissa as he said,"Witchy McWitch here is going to make you a daylight ring."

"Really?" Marissa asked with a surprised look. She felt Jeremy grab her hand then looked over at him, both had a smile on their faces. She never thought she would miss something as simple as the sun when she was turned, but now knowing she could go out in the sun again was like a dream come true.

"Is this true?" Elena asked, as she looked in between the two brothers and Bonnie. She was happy for Marissa, Stefan had explained to her before how it would be good for the younger girl to resume her normal life, although she couldn't deny that it worried her a little bit since she had killed someone recently.

"Mm-hm." Damon answered with a nod.

"Thank you." Marissa said with a genuine smile at Bonnie.

"I'm only doing this cause Stefan promised me he would watch out for you, make sure you never hurt anyone again." Bonnie pointed out, as she shot Marissa a look.

"I don't mean to hurt him." Marissa softly said back.

"You didn't just hurt him Rissa, you killed someone and I'm not ok with that." Bonnie added.

"I'm sorry." Marissa whispered, as tears filled her eyes. She already felt guilty enough, but hearing a friend point it out what she did made it worse.

"It's ok. She made a mistake, a costly mistake, and we're not forgetting that." Stefan begin to say, then added,"but the longer we keep her locked up and away from the things that made her human, the worse it's going to get."

"It's true." Jeremy said, agreeing with Stefan. "She's already going crazy from being in my room the last few days." He added.

"Ok can we stop talking about me like I'm not in the room." Marissa snapped, then added,"I know I screwed up. I know I'm a monster and maybe Bonnie is right, maybe this is a bad idea. I don't deserve to be around people."

"I don't deserve anything." Marissa said softly, as she turned and ran back up the stairs.

A few moments later they heard a bedroom door slam shut as she went back into Jeremy's bedroom to hide in his bed.

"I'll go check on her." Jeremy offered, wanting to be there for his best friend, like he promised her.

"Let me." Stefan said, stopping him. "Her emotions are amplified. I know she would never hurt you, but her moods are all over the place and it would be better if a vampire talked to her, someone who understands." He added.

"Then I'll go." Damon said, as he walked past Stefan to head for the stairs. He looked at his brother then added,"she still hates you."

No one argued with his comment, even if Stefan was a better choice to talk her down, they knew she still feared him a little from when he attacked her at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

Damon made his way upstairs and over to the bedroom door. He reached out to open the door and rolled his eyes when he realized she had locked the door. He lightly knocked on the door as he said,"come on Mini-Forbes, open the door."

He waited a few minutes, his ear pressed against the door, not hearing her moving around on the other side. He was about to knock on the door and call out to her again until he finally heard her walk toward the door and unlock it.

"Are you done with your temper tantrum?" Damon asked with raised eyebrows, as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame.

"I'm not throwing a ..."

"Yes you are." Damon said, interrupting her. He walked inside the room and looked at the younger girl, he didn't want to admit it but she reminded him a lot of himself when he was first turned. He never wanted to hurt anyone and when he did he felt so much guilt until he turned off his emotions. He quickly realized it was easier to live as a vampire when you didn't care about things anymore.

"Look, I know all of this is new to you and it's going to be hard, but you can do this." Damon said to her, as he watched her sit down on the edge of the bed.

She scoffed at his comment then said,"that's not what you said the night of the carnival."

"You said I wouldn't make it as a vampire and I'm starting to think you were right." She added sadly.

"I was wrong." Damon said, as he sat down beside her. When he saw her shake her head to argue with him, he added,"trust me, you can do this."

"How do you know?" Marissa asked, as she raised her head to look up at him with watery eyes.

Damon sighed, he had hoped he wouldn't have to get all weepy with her and open up, but if he helped her in the end, he guessed he would have to. He scooted a little closer to her then said quietly for only her to hear,"I know you can do it, cause I believe in you."

"You do?" Marissa asked with a surprised look, as she reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek.

Damon nodded his head then said,"I know how it is to feel guilt for hurting someone, but you will get through it. I know cause I did too."

"When I was first turned I never wanted to hurt anyone. I was all boring like Stefan, only with better hair." Damon joked, causing her to chuckle, then he continued,"but I made it and you can too."

"How did you do it?" Marissa asked, thinking she could do the same.

"Honestly? I just stopped caring. I flipped the switch." Damon answered, then added,"although I don't suggest you doing the same."

"Why not?" Marissa asked curiously.

"You're to nice to become a dick like me. You have to many people who care about you and if you become like me, you'll lose them all. You'll wake up one day and realize you are all alone." Damon answered honestly.

"Thanks, Damon." Marissa said with a genuine smile. She bumped her shoulder against his then softly added,"but just so you know, you're not alone."

Damon gave her a small smile, but didn't comment, instead he asked,"you ready to go back and face everyone?"

She took a deep breath and slowly released it then nodded her head, letting him know she was ready. She stood up from the bed and went to walk to the door until he called out her name, stopping her.

"Just one more thing." Damon said, as he stood up from the bed. He took a step toward her, leaning closer to speak to her so only she would hear him,"you should go easy on Stefan. I know he hurt you, but that's not how he is. He was going through a rough time, it doesn't excuse it, but he's better now and he just wants to help you."

"He's a good guy and could help you better than I could." He added, then shot her a playful warning as he said,"but if you tell anyone I said that, I'll stake you and deny it."

Marissa chuckled at his comment and rolled her eyes then she nodded her head, letting him know she heard him and would give Stefan another chance.

"You know Damon, maybe there is a heart in you after all." Marissa said, as she smiled at him.

He pointed a finger at her as he said,"don't say that to loud. We wouldn't want others to hear it."

"You're secret is safe with me." Marissa promised with a snicker, as she did a 'cross my heart' gesture across her chest.

Damon chuckled at her antics then laid an arm around her shoulders as he said,"come on mini-Forbes, let's get you a daylight ring."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Several minutes later, Marissa was sitting on the couch with Jeremy on one side and Elena on the other, while the Salvatore brothers stood off to the side. Bonnie stood in front of Marissa and the others with a huge book in her hands. She sat a ring on the coffee table in front of the new blonde vampire. The ring had three silver bands that were connected together with a blue lapis lazuli stone in the middle and two solid 14k gold balls on either side of the stone.

"Now is the part where I explain the rules." Bonnie stated, then added,"the witch who spells the ring has the power to dispel it so if you ever do anything to hurt anyone…"

"I won't." Marissa promised her. She looked over at Damon and Stefan for a moment and smiled when they both nodded their heads, letting her know they believed in her.

"You are a vampire that means the urge to kill is a part of who you are. The minute you let it take over, I will stop you." Bonnie threatened her.

"She'll be fine. Just do the spell." Damon snapped at Bonnie, wanting her to get to the point.

"Don't rush me or I'll walk right out that door." Bonnie said back to Damon.

"It's ok, we understand what you are saying Bonnie," Stefan said, trying to calm everyone down. "Rissa understands and she agrees, right Ris?" He added, as he looked over at her.

"Right, I understand Bonnie. I won't hurt anymore, I can do this." Marissa said to her.

"Ok." Bonnie said with a small nod, hoping she wasn't lying to her. She walked over to the window behind the couch and pulled one of the curtains open enough to allow a stream of sunlight to land on the ring. She closed her eyes and mumbled a few words then closed the book as she said,"all done."

Marissa turned her head to look at Elena and the brothers, who gave her a nod, then she leaned forward to pick up the ring and placed it on her finger before looking up at Bonnie and asked,"that's it? We don't have to do anything else?"

"Nothing else. That's it." Bonnie answered.

Marissa looked up at the little bit of sunlight that was above her head then slowly raised her hand. She paused for a moment then slowly moved her hand closer until she was touching the light. She breathed out a small laugh when nothing happened. No burning flesh smell, no pain, no nothing. She didn't have to hide in the dark anymore, she could live again.

Marissa chuckled happily as she stood up and turned around to face the windows. She grabbed the curtains and pulled them open, basking in the sunlight, something she had not done in days.

"I can feel the sun again. This is amazing." Marissa said happily. She looked down at Jeremy, grinning at him, as she added,"I don't have to hide anymore."

Jeremy smiled back at her as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her to hug her before whispering in her ear,"but you're still welcomed to hide out in my room anytime."

Marissa felt a chill down her spine at his words and bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. She knew she should not read into that comment and she definitely shouldn't like it, but she did. She liked the idea of hiding out with Jeremy in his room, but it was time to get back to the real world.

"She's all yours now." Bonnie said to them, as she turned around and walked toward the front door. Elena quickly walked over to her, thanking her for her help before seeing her out the door.

"So now what? I mean, now what do I do?" Marissa asked, as she looked over at Damon and Stefan.

"Whatever you want." Damon answered, then added,"cut loose, have fun, be a kid."

Elena left the front door and walked back over to the small group as she said,"Ric just pulled up. We should get going."

"One of us should probably stay behind." Stefan suggested,"help Rissa control herself better."

Damon nodded his head in agreement, then looked at Marissa as he added,"and you should probably start getting use to the bunny diet."

"Bunnies? I have to kill bunnies?" Marissa asked with a frown. The thought of killing animals upset her.

"I know you like the real thing, but we can't have you going around draining people so you need to learn how to balance bunny and blood bags." Damon pointed out. He glanced over at Stefan then looked back at her as he added,"and baby bro is better at the bunnies than me."

"That's ok. I-I can handle it on my own." Marissa responded quickly.

"No new vampire can handle their blood lust on their own. Actually every vampire, new or old has problems with it, but I can help you." Stefan offered, as he took a step toward her only to cause her to take a step back again.

She glanced over at Damon as he shot her a look, reminding her of their talk earlier. She looked back over at Stefan with a small smile as she said,"ok. You're right, I do need help."

"So you're staying?" Elena asked her boyfriend and tried not to feel disappointed. She knew Stefan was a better choice to help Marissa than Damon, but she wished he was going with her to Duke.

"I guess you're stuck with me." Damon said, as he walked past Elena to go outside, a smug smile on his face.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the car." Stefan said to Elena, as he wrapped his arm around her and led her to the door. Explaining to her why it was important for him to stay behind and make sure she would be ok with Damon.

Once they were alone, Marissa looked over at Jeremy then asked,"so do you still want to watch movies?"

"Are you kidding? You can go outside now. I know you're itching to leave the house and go somewhere." Jeremy said, then added,"am I right?"

"Yeah, you are." Marissa said with a laugh, then added,"I really want to go somewhere so badly, but where should we go first?"

"We're going to the woods." Stefan said, as he walked back into the house. He had heard their conversation from outside. "It's time to go hunting." He added.

Marissa made a face then asked,"can we do that later and do something fun now?"

"Doing this will help you get better control of your cravings." Stefan pointed out, then added,"then afterwards we can do something fun."

"Like what?" Marissa asked excitedly.

"Whatever you want." Stefan answered.

"So does that mean we can go to Tyler's party?" Marissa asked with a hopeful smile on her face, itching to see her boyfriend for the first time in days.

"Is that a good idea?" Jeremy questioned, worried about her losing control around so many people. Being around him and Stefan was one thing, but a party would be full of people. He worried that would be to hard on her right now even if she was slowly getting better at controlling, he knew she would hate herself if she slipped up and hurt someone else.

Stefan nodded his head then look over at Marissa as he said,"Tyler is the closest connection that you have to your humanity and I think that being around him is a good thing."

"Great, I'll go get dressed then." Marissa said happily, as she ran up the stairs to change, leaving Stefan and Jeremy in the living room.

"She'll be ok." Stefan said to Jeremy when he saw the concern look on his face. He placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder and waited until he raised his head to look at him, then he added,"with you by her side, she will be ok."

Jeremy nodded his head at the comment, hoping like hell that Stefan was right. He knew Stefan had went off the deep end before and didn't want that for Marissa, he couldn't lose his best friend. He refused to ever lose her and vowed to be by her side until his last breath.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hello readers! I'm sorry this update took so long, but hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding this story. Also big thanks to winxgirl1997, Lucy Greenhill, MatthewGrayGublerNutxx, ddluzelle, RHatch89, Bronzelove, Lady Syndra, rosa, Bradly93, Guest, shippolove844, LunaEvanna Longbottom and Guest for reviewing. Happy reading =}_


	32. Bad Moon Rising:Part 2

**Bad Moon Rising~Part 2**

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><p>Several minutes later, Marissa was walking in between Stefan and Jeremy through the woods. Stefan had given her a short version of his life, of how he had lost control in the past and even recently, like when he attacked her at the pageant. He explained that was why he drank from animals, and why it was important for her to be able to balance animal blood and blood bags. Then he explained to her what she needed to do to catch a rabbit, causing her to instantly shake her head.<p>

"Ew, no! No, no, no. Just no way, no. Not happening." Marissa said, as she continued to shake her head. She made a face at the thought of hurting an innocent rabbit, then added,"I can't eat bunnies, I just can't."

"You're not eating it, just drinking it's blood." Stefan pointed out.

"I don't care. I'm not doing it." Marissa said back, as she stubbornly folded her arms across her chest.

"Tell him Jeremy." She added, as she glanced over at her best friend, with her eyebrows raised.

"She loves animals. She would never forgive herself for killing one." Jeremy stated, then added,"when we were seven, she accidentally hit a dog with her bike. Threw her off and hurt her worst than the dog, but she still wrapped it up in her coat, then we ran it to my house with it. She cried and begged my dad to fix it."

Marissa nodded her head, as she added,"but there was nothing to fix cause the dog was ok."

"Rissa, however, was not. She ended up having to get stitches on her knee." Jeremy continued.

"Which is where this scar came from." Marissa added, as she pointed to the small scar on her right knee.

Jeremy couldn't stop himself from checking out her lean, tan legs. He always did love her legs and the blue jean shorts she had on accentuated them perfectly, causing him to zone out for a moment until he heard Stefan talking, causing his head to snap up, hoping neither one caught him staring at her.

If they did, they were at least nice enough not to call him out on it. Which he was grateful for.

"I understand that, I do, but I'm sorry Rissa. You're a new vampire. It's good to train you early on finding a balance between animal and human blood." Stefan explained to the young blonde.

"He has a point." Jeremy said, agreeing with him.

"Who's side on you on?" Marissa snapped, as she looked over at Jeremy with her arms crossed while shooting him a dirty look.

"That's not fair Ris. You know I always have your back, but you have to do this." Jeremy said back.

"You know, I got to say, being a vampire sucks." Rissa said, as she stomp her foot to get her point across.

As she turned away from the boys to pout a little more, Jeremy placed a hand over his mouth, to keep from laughing, he knew that would only set her off even more, but unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and a small chuckle was able to escape, causing her to spin around and give him an evil look.

"Do you think this is funny?" She snapped, causing Jeremy's eyes to widen when he saw how pissed she was. As he shook his head 'no' to answer her, she took a step toward him to continue,"cause I can assure you, nothing about this is funny. Being murdered and coming back as a blood-sucking vampire is not fun. Being stuck with you in your stupid, dark room for days was not fun."

"Hey!" Jeremy called out, feeling offended.

"I didn't mean it like that." Marissa said, as she rolled her eyes. "I just mean it was hard to be around you for that long. Half the time I wanted to drink your blood and the other half I wanted ..." She began to say until she realized what she about to admit and quickly closed her mouth. She was about to admit how badly at times she wanted to rip his clothes off and screw his brains out, but she couldn't do that and she couldn't tell her best friend that.

Besides there was the whole _'she has a boyfriend that she loves'_ issue.

Yeah she _definitely_ couldn't tell Jeremy any of that.

"You wanted to what?" Jeremy asked her confused when she paused.

"Nothing." Marissa mumbled, brushing it off. She turned to look at Stefan as she asked,"so what I do when I see the rabbit?"

"Chase it, catch it, feed on it." Stefan stated, matter-of-fact. He saw her make a face again then added,"I'm sorry Ris, I know this is the last thing you want to do."

"It's not just that... well it is a big part of that, but I just want to go have some fun." Marissa explained. She threw out her arms then added,"this is the first time I have felt the sun in days and I'm sorry, but playing serial killer in training with you two in the woods is not my idea of fun."

"I would think you skipped the whole serial killer thing when you went straight to vampire." Jeremy pointed out with a small laugh.

"Not funny Jer." Marissa said, as she shot him a look. She sighed and looked over at Stefan again when she heard a chuckle coming from him.

"Great. Now Stefan is laughing. It's not funny!" Marissa said, as she stomped her foot to get her point across.

"I know, trust me, nothing about this is funny." Stefan said, then added,"it's just that when someone becomes a vampire, all of their natural behaviors get sort of amplified."

"Meaning?" Marissa asked.

"I mean… as a human I cared deeply for people, how they felt. If they were hurting I felt their pain and I felt guilty if I was the one who caused it and as a vampire all of that got… magnified." Stefan explained.

"Great!" Marissa said sarcastically, then began to say,"so basically you're saying I'm a ... a "

"An over-dramatic bratty baby who's to sassy for her own good." Jeremy finished for her.

"Seriously Jer?" Marissa said, as she shot him a look.

"What?" Jeremy asked innocently, then added,"I said you were sassy. Sassy is a good thing."

"How about we get to hunting?" Stefan suggested, interrupting the two teens. "Then afterwards we can go to that party and you can see your boyfriend." He added, as he looked over at Marissa. He knew being around Tyler would be good for her, it would help keep her human like Elena does for him.

"Ok." Marissa said with a smile as Tyler crossed her mind. She had really missed her boyfriend the last few days. She took a deep breath then slowly released it before saying,"I can do this."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

"I couldn't do it." Marissa said with a sigh, as she and Jeremy walked passed some of their classmates at the party. "I suck." She added.

She had tried to catch a rabbit. She had tried for close to an hour, but just couldn't do it. Every time she was close to catching one she would freeze, giving it a chance to escape. She just couldn't kill an innocent animal. Even after Stefan caught one for her, she still couldn't drink front it and 'accidentally' dropped it so it could run away.

"You did your best." Jeremy said back, trying to make her feel better.

"No I didn't. I didn't try at all." Marissa said, then added,"and now I'm a little hungry and cranky. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea."

"Ok, come on." Jeremy said, as he grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the crowd.

The two stood at the edge of the woods, alone. Jeremy glanced around for a moment, making sure they were still alone, then raised his arm, placing his wrist in front of her mouth.

"What are you doing?" Marissa called out in shock, as she pushed his hand away from her.

"You're hungry and I have blood." Jeremy answered simply. He held up his hand again, then added,"so drink up."

"No! Absolutely not!" Marissa snapped, as she pushed his hand away again.

"Ris ..."

"No Jer! I'm not doing that. Ever!" Marissa stated.

"It's ok. I trust you." Jeremy said, trying to get through to her.

"Yeah, but, I don't trust myself." Marissa said back. The last time she drank from a human she accidentally killed him. She couldn't handle that kind of guilt, especially if she hurt Jeremy.

"Rissa ..." Jeremy softly said, knowing what was on her mind.

"I can't Jeremy." Marissa said, cutting him off. "I can't drink from you, I can't drink from animals, I just can't." She added.

Jeremy looked at her for a moment, wanting to comfort her, but didn't know how. He settled for reaching out and grabbing her hand, giving it a small squeeze to let her know he was there for her.

Marissa, feeling a small tingle from head to toe from his touch, pulled her hand away. After all the time she had spent with him lately, she feared all it would take was one more touch before she did something she would regret. Something that a girl, who already had a boyfriend, should not be doing with her best friend.

Jeremy gave her a weird look, wondering why she pulled away from him, as she quietly said,"I should go find Tyler."

Without another word, Marissa turned around and began to walk away.

She was really started to hate all the confusing feelings that kept hitting her when ever she was around Jeremy. Any time he touched her or even looked at her, she flashed back to the night they kissed and confessed their love. She couldn't help but wonder how different her life would have been if Damon had not compelled them to forget that.

As much as she hated that he did that, she was actually kind of glad that he did. She knew if he had not done it, she never would have ended up with Tyler and confusing feelings or not, she really loves him. The thought of not being with him would break her unbeating heart.

She softly smiled when, a few feet away, she heard Tyler talking and laughing with Matt and her sister, Caroline. She began to make her way over toward them until she heard her name being brought up. She stopped in her tracks, listening in with her enhanced hearing as the three talked about her.

"Where's Rissa?" Matt questioned, as he looked between Tyler and Caroline.

Tyler shrugged as Caroline spoke up and said,"who knows. She hasn't been answering my text or calls. She hasn't even been home. She's been staying with Elena and Jeremy since the night of the carnival."

"Have you talked to her?" Caroline asked, as she looked over at Tyler.

"A few times, but every time I suggest us hanging out she has an excuse not to." Tyler answered, then added,"she's been acting strange since the wreck."

"Well she did almost die." Matt pointed out, then added,"that has to change a person."

"Yeah." Tyler mumbled, as he ran a hand over his hair. He realized Matt was right. A close call like that would change someone and it was all his fault for losing control of the car.

With the guilt eating at him, he nodded his head over toward where he knew a keg was set up, then added,"I'm gonna go grab a beer."

Marissa, after hearing everything, watched him walk away from Matt and Caroline. She could see the pained look on his face and hear his heart racing from where she was standing. She knew he was beating himself up, still, about the wreck and hated to see him hurting.

She walked past a group of people, keeping her eyes on Tyler, as she made her way over toward him. He stopped in front of the keg and reached out to grab an empty cup, but before he could fill it up, he felt someone grab his shoulder and spin him around.

He lowered his eyebrows in anger, ready to tell someone off, until he saw who it was. He smiled at Marissa and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could utter a word, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his for a heated kiss.

Tyler wrapped one arm around her waist, bringing her body closer to his, as he rested his other hand on the back of her head. He grinned against her lips then tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss. It had been awhile since the two had kissed and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

"Woo! Get it, Tyler!" He heard one of his football buddies yell out, as a few of his other friends clapped and cheered out.

Marissa ended the kiss and chuckled, her cheeks turning red as she lowered her head, hiding it in his shirt, as his friends kept cheering. She was usually the type who wasn't into public display of affection, but she just wanted to show him that she might be a little different, but her feelings for him were still there.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Tyler said, as he tried to calm his friends down with a chuckle. He glanced down to look at Marissa and laughed when he saw how embarrassed she was. He kissed the side of her head, then reached out to grab her hand, telling her to follow him, as the two walked away from the keg and crowd.

He walked over to the side where it was less crowded then pulled her back into his arms, pressing his lips against hers for another heated kiss. As Tyler began to kiss across her jaw and down the side of her neck, Marissa felt him moving her backwards until her back hit a tree, causing her to gasp in surprise. She bit her bottom lip and groaned when he nibbled on her skin, causing him to grin.

As things begin to get heated between them, she could hear his blood pumping through his veins, making her hunger worst. She laid her head back against the tree and closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths, as she tried to calm herself down before she completely vamped out.

Ty-Tyler." She breathed out, once she felt her face go back to normal.

"Hm?" He asked, as he pulled back to look at her.

Marissa smiled as she laid a hand on the back of his neck, twirling his hair around her fingers, as she softly said,"I love you."

"I love you too." Tyler said back, as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers again.

The two kiss for a moment, until she pulled back and added,"I know you do, but, what I'm trying to say is, I know I've been weird lately and I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Tyler said, as he pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear then rested the back of his hand against her cheek, just wanting to touch her, as he softly caressed her skin with his knuckles.

"No, it's not." Marissa said, then added,"we were all in that wreck, we all could have lost our lives, but none of you changed, only me and I'm sorry."

She leaned forward to softly kiss his lip, then pulled back, her lips inches from his as she softly added,"but no matter what happens, I love you. That won't ever change."

Tyler smiled at her words before capturing her lips for a passionate kiss. She wasn't sure how long they had been making out until they heard someone calling their names, followed by Caroline telling him to get his lips off of her sister.

Marissa pulled back with a laugh to see Tyler being pulled away from her before Caroline threw her arms around her, telling her how happy she was to see her. She held on tight to her sister as the two continued to hug.

She had really missed Caroline while being locked up at the Gilbert house as she tried to control herself better. The two girls had always been close and it was hard for Marissa not to turn to her during this time, but she knew Caroline wouldn't understand. It took forever to get her on board with Bonnie being a witch and she still wasn't completely sure if she believed that or not, so there was no way she would believe she was a vampire now.

Tyler kept an arm around Marissa's waist as she stood in front of him and nursed a beer with his other hand while she talked and laughed with her sister and Matt. Every so often he spoke or laughed at the right time, but mostly he just wanted to listen to her. He had missed her voice and her laughter.

It had been a few days since the wreck and since she left the hospital, but that day was still fresh in his mind, making him realize how close he came to losing her.

"I'm so glad you are here." Caroline said to her sister, then added,"we thought you weren't coming."

"Yeah, I didn't think I was, but then I realized I had avoided life long enough. Sure, I died..." She paused, her eyes going slightly wide as she realized what she said, then quickly added,"I mean, I almost died, so it's time to start living again."

"I'm sorry I've been ignoring you guys." She added,"I've been a terrible sister, girlfriend and friend."

"It's ok. We understand." Matt said, as he flashed her a smile.

Marissa smiled back at him, a way to thank him, then said,"I missed you." Her eyes flickered over to her sister, Caroline, as she added,"and you." Lastly, she laid her head back against Tyler's shoulder to look up at him as she finished softly,"and I missed you most of all."

Tyler smiled down at her before pressing his lips against her forehead, giving her a sweet kiss, letting her know how much he too, had missed her.

"We really missed you too, Ris." Caroline said speaking for them all, as she smiled at the happy couple standing across from her.

She was happy to see her sister healthy and acting normal again. She never spoke the thought out loud, but she was beginning to worry about her after locking herself in at the Gilbert house and ignoring everyone. She knew the wreck really shook her up and she was acting different, but she just wanted her little sister back and from the looks of it, she was back now.

Marissa smiled at her sister, then threw her head back again to look at Tyler and begin to giggle as he left light kisses on her forehead, cheeks , eyelids and nose. She turned around to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a sweet kiss, until Matt speak up, getting their attention.

"What's your uncle doing here?" Matt questioned out loud toward Tyler.

Tyler pulled away from Marissa to glance over at Mason, who had just pulled up in his older SUV. He shrugged his shoulders, then begin to walk over toward him, reaching behind him to grab Marissa's hand to pull her along behind him. After spending days away from her, he wanted more time with her and wanted her in his presence.

"You busting us or you joining us?" Tyler joked at his uncle, as he stood beside the driver side door.

Mason glanced over at Marissa for a moment, making her feel uncomfortable. She stepped closer to Tyler, wrapping an arm around him and leaned into him.

"Neither." Mason answered. He looked away from Marissa and looked over at his nephew as he added,"hoping you can make sure everyone is out of here by dark."

"What happens after dark?" Tyler questioned him. He knew his uncle was hiding something from him, but just wasn't sure what yet.

Mason stole a quick glance at Marissa again, making her wonder again if he somehow knew what she was and sending a chill down her spine as he answered,"someone could get hurt."

He looked back over at Tyler then added,"or someone could end up wasted and dead at the bottom of the lake."

Tyler, not seeing the looks aimed toward his girlfriend or seeing the fear on her face at the comment, chuckled at his uncle's words.

"You heard your mom. The family is liable if anything happens." Mason continued.

"Don't be a party killer." Tyler teased, then asked,"how about I get you a beer?"

"Aren't you all a little to young to have beer?" Mason joked back.

"I mean water." Tyler added, as he took a few steps back, pulling Marissa with him until Mason called out her name, causing her to freeze in her steps.

"You can hang out here if you want. Keep me company." Mason offered, as he shot the blonde a kind smile. Making her think he had friendly intentions but she knew better.

She noticed all the little looks he had sent her way and the little innocent comments that could have another meaning. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone with him, but didn't know how to decline his offer without Tyler getting suspicious, meaning as much as she hated it, she was going to have to hang out with Mason until Tyler returned with Mason's drink.

Tyler shot her a look, silent asking her if that was ok with her, she bit the inside of her cheek then nodded her head once. He nodded his head back, announcing he would be right back, then begin to walk away. She slipped her hands into her front pants pockets, her back toward Mason, as the two watched Tyler make his way toward a cooler.

Once he was out of their eye sight, she waited a moment, seeing how long it would take Mason to speak and she didn't have long to wait.

"Now that we're alone, we need to talk." Mason stated, as he rested his arm on the car door and leaned toward her.

"I figured as much." Marissa said, as she turned around to face him with a bored look on her face.

"Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush with you. I'm just going to be straight with you." Mason said, then added,"you need to break up with Tyler."

"You're joking right?" Marissa asked, as she shot him a disbelieving look.

She knew when it came to some prominent families, a member or two might look down on the person their family member was dating, but that had never been a problem with her and the rest of the family. Tyler's mother loved her, his dad liked her too when he was alive, but seemed like his uncle was the only one who had a problem with her.

"Why would I do that? I love your nephew." She added, then continued,"it's clear to see that you have a problem with me and I don't know what that is ..."

"Yes you do." Mason interrupted her, then added,"you know exactly why you can't be with him."

Marissa felt her heart race as Mason shot her a look and she realized her fears were true. He did know. He knew what she was, but how?

"I-I uh... I don't.." She began to say, trying to play dumb, but he saw right through her.

"You're a vampire." Mason stated point-blank. "And you're going to break up with my nephew or else ..."

"Or else what?" Marissa asked when he paused.

"Or else I'll tell everyone your little secret." Mason threatened, as he shot her a grin.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey all! Sorry it's been so long since I updated. With the show going downhill it is hard to be motivated to write for it, but I'm not giving up on this story. I still have a lot of good things planned. So Mason knows her secret and is using it against her to protect Tyler, poor Rissa ={ lol. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long, thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. I hope you all liked this chapter. Also big thanks to __runawaycherry93, winxgirl1997, Lucy Greenhill, RHatch89, Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, LunaEvanna Longbottom, kaylee Adkins loves 1D, Bradly93, Guest, belladu57, Ashlynn, MessintheMirror, rosa, Guest,WickedKing567, Guest, Dark G0ddess and Madison Fell __ for reviewing. If I left out anyone, I apologize. I'm happy to see that people still love this story tho. Thank you all again! Happy reading! _


	33. Bad Moon Rising:Part 3

**Bad Moon Rising~Part 3**

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><p>"You're a vampire." Mason stated point-blank. "And you're going to break up with my nephew or else ..."<p>

"Or else what?" Marissa asked when he paused.

"Or else I'll tell everyone your little secret." Mason threatened, as he shot her a grin.

"You wouldn't." Marissa hissed, as she folded her arms across her chest and shot him a dirty look, calling his bluff.

"Try me." Mason said back, then added,'I'm giving you the chance to end things with him on your terms. Tell him whatever reason you like or I'll tell him the truth about you and you won't have to worry about telling him anything cause he'll hate you. He'll see you for the monster that you are."

Marissa bit her bottom lip as she felt tears fill her eyes at his words, but she refused to let a tear fall in front of him and give him the satisfaction. Even if his words were her worst fears. She feared once Tyler found out what she was, he would never look at her the same again, he wouldn't see her as the Marissa he fell in love with. She worried he would walk away from her and she would lose him forever.

"And then I'll tell your mother and the rest of the council what you are." Mason threatened, then shot her a smug smile as he added,"you do remember what they do to vampires right?"

He saw her look down at the ground, thinking about his offer. "It's your choice." He pointed out.

Marissa let out a bitter chuckle, as she looked up at him and said,"this isn't a choice. It's a demand."

"You can call it whatever you want, but at the end of the day, it's whatever you choose to do." Mason said, then added,"you have to decide what is more important. Some teenage romance that wouldn't last anyways or your life."

"You're a vampire, you can have a million of high school relationships throughout your long life. All I'm asking is for you to let this one go." He continued.

"But this isn't just some young love bullshit, I really do love Tyler." Marissa argued.

"I know you do and I know I'm coming off as an asshole right now, but I'm just trying to protect him from all of this." Mason explained, then added,"and I know deep down all you want is to protect him too and this is the way to do. Just let him go."

Marissa glanced off to the side, seeing Tyler making his way back over toward them. She felt her heart break a little when he flashed her that grin of his that always made her go weak in the knees. She honestly did love him and as much as she hated to admit it, Mason was right, she did want to protect him from the world that was hers now, but could she really look him in the eyes and end things? Could she really walk away from him?

"Hey, not sure where this came from, since none of us are drinking around here, but here you go." Tyler joked, as he handed Mason a bottle of beer.

"Thanks." Mason said, as he nodded his head toward his nephew. He glanced over at Marissa as he took a sip, seeing that she was deep in thought and hoped she would do the right thing. He didn't want to have to go through with his threats but if it kept Tyler safe he would do it in a heartbeat.

"Hey, you ok?" Tyler asked softly when he saw the look on her face. When she didn't answer, he reached out to lightly graze her arm, causing goosebumps to pop up on her skin from his touch.

Marissa jerked her head up to look at him, feeling another piece of her heart breaking as he looked at her with a concern look on his face. She honestly didn't think she could do this. She needed more time to think about it. She couldn't do it, she just couldn't do it now.

"Yeah, I uh, I'm going to go grab a drink." Marissa said, as she pointed behind her, where the coolers were, and took a few steps backwards.

"Alright, I'll go with you." Tyler suggested, as he turned to tell his uncle 'bye'

"No, it's ok. You two talk, I'll catch up with you later." Marissa said, as she held up her hands, motioning for him to stay. She cut her eyes at Mason for a moment, giving him a nod to let him know she was thinking about it, then she looked back at Tyler, giving him a half-smile before turning around and quickly walking away.

Marissa folded her arms across her chest as she walked through the crowd of partygoers. She wished she could cut loose and have fun like they were, but she couldn't. Instead she stood off to the side, deep in thought, until she heard someone walk up to her and stand beside her. She turned her head to the side to see that it was Stefan.

"Here." Stefan said, as he held a red cup out to her.

"I'm not in a drinking mood." Marissa said, as she shook her head.

"It's not beer." Stefan added.

Marissa took the cup from his hand and looked in the cup, seeing it was half full with blood. She looked up at Stefan with a confused look on her face, wondering where he got it from.

"It's from a blood bag." Stefan said quietly for only her to hear, then continued,"I brought one just in case the rabbit thing didn't work out. I know my way isn't for everyone, but I appreciate you trying it."

"Thanks." Marissa said mumbled, as she brought the cup up to her lips, drinking it all up in one swallow.

"Are you doing ok?" Stefan asked her, wanting to make sure the party wasn't too much for her.

"Yeah, I guess." Marissa answered. She honestly didn't know what she was at the moment. She was sad, confused and needed her best friend. She needed Jeremy.

She glanced around for a moment, not seeing him, then turned to look at Stefan as she asked,"hey, have you seen Jeremy?"

"Yeah, he went home a few minutes ago." Stefan said. He saw the disappointed look on her face then asked,"are you sure you're ok?"

"Can I ask you something?" Marissa asked suddenly, ignoring his previous question.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Stefan said surprised at the sudden change in topic.

"Is there anything that would make you leave Elena?" Marissa asked.

"What?" Stefan asked confused, wondering where this was coming from.

"Well, I mean, you're a vampire and she's human. If certain people found out what you really are, they wouldn't be happy with the relationship. What would you do if someone told you to leave her alone? Would you do it?" Marissa asked.

Stefan looked at her closely, a concern look came over his face as he asked,"did someone say something to you? Are you being threatened?"

"No." Marissa lied, then added,"I just, I was just wondering how it would all work. You know, vampire - slash - human relationships."

"You're worried about you and Tyler." Stefan stated, assuming that's what she was talking about. "I'm not going to lie, it is hard at times, keeping your cravings under control when you are around them, but I believe you can do it, and I believe you two will be ok." He added.

Marissa shot him a small smile, wishing his words were true, but knew deep down they were not going to be ok. If she stayed with him Mason would expose her, then it was only a matter of time before Stefan and Damon would be exposed too. She didn't want to be the reason all of them were found out, but she also didn't know if she could live without Tyler.

"Don't worry so much. I'm here to help you and Damon is too. We're both going to help you through this." Stefan promised her.

She slowly nodded her head at his comment, but all she could think was. '_if only it was that easy_'.

Stefan heard his cell phone ringing and pulled the phone out from his pocket, seeing that it was Elena. He flashed Marissa a smile and excused himself, as he walked away to answer the call. While Elena filled Stefan on what they learned from Isobel's research at Duke, Marissa stayed in the same spot.

She wasn't sure how long she had stood there as the sun begin to set and everyone started leaving. She was chewing on her thumbnail, something she did when she was thinking, when she heard someone walk up behind her and wrap an arm around her waist.

She softly gasp in surprise, then felt a sad smile appear on her face when she realized it was Tyler. She laid her hands on his arm that was wrapped around her and closed her eyes for a moment, knowing she was going to miss the feel of him holding her.

He placed a quick kiss on the side of her head then moved his lips to her ear as he said,"there you are. I've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry." Marissa mumbled. She turned around in his arms to face him, then added,"I was just, you know, hanging out and mingling."

"Yeah, that's fine, but how about we turn this into a party of two?" Tyler suggested, as he grabbed her hand and begin to walk, pulling her with him.

"Where are we going?" Marissa asked him. When she noticed they were walking further into the woods she added,"I thought we were suppose to leave after it got dark."

"We are, but I had a better idea." Tyler said, as they walked up to some old ruins. He nodded his head toward them as he said,"this is what is left of the old Lockwood estate."

"It burned right?" Marissa asked. She remembered learning about a lot of old plantation house being burned to the ground during the The Battle of Willow Creek back in the day.

"Mm-hm." Tyler answered with a nod. Then while still holding her hand, he walked over to a set of stairs and begin to walk down them, as he said,"and this is an underground cellar."

"Creepy." Marissa mumbled, as she looked everywhere but at him.

"Yeah that was my reaction too, but I figured it was the perfect place for me and you to continue partying." Tyler suggested. She saw him nod his head off to the side and glanced over there, seeing that he had a blanket laid out for them with a couple of beers and a bag of chips.

Marissa watched as he walked over toward the blanket, his back toward her as he added,"now, I know beer and chips are not the most romantic food, but it was all there was up there."

At his words she softly chuckled, feeling tears fill her eyes. Even when he did something simple, it came off as sweet and thoughtful. He might not think something as simple as beer and chips were romantic, but to her it was. It was the little things he did that made her feel special and loved. It was the little things she was going to miss the most.

Tyler turned around with a confused look on his face when he heard a small sniffle coming from her. He walked back over toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her toward him, as he said,"hey, come here."

Marissa lowered her head, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes, but he lowered his head, trying to get a good look at her. When that didn't happened, he softly said,"look at me, Ris."

Marissa took a deep breath as she raised her head to look at him. She bit her bottom lip to hold back her tears as she stared at him, memorizing everything about him.

"What's going on with you?" Tyler asked with a concern expression on his face, as he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Nothing, everything is fine." Marissa lied, as she gave him a forced smile.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Tyler asked, then before she could answer, he added,"come on Rissa, I know you and I know when you're lying. Talk to me."

"I can't." Marissa whispered.

"Yes you can. Look, I know you're going through something since the accident. I don't know what it is, but I know something is different and I'm sorry. I beat myself up daily cause of it." He began to say.

"You shouldn't. It wasn't your fault Ty." She interrupted, then added,"you are right though, something is different about me."

"Whatever it is, I'm here for you babe. Let me be here for you." Tyler said. He placed his hands on either side of her face and said,"you know I would do anything for you."

"I know and that's the problem." Marissa said with tears in her eyes. She knew for a fact if she told him what Mason was making her do, he would do whatever he could to keep it from happening and that anything could get him hurt or worse.

Besides she knew deep down Mason was right, it was dangerous for her to be with Tyler, she knew it from the moment she woke up and realized she was a vampire, but the selfish part of her wasn't ready to let him go. But now she had no choice.

"What does that mean? What's going on?" Tyler asked her.

"I don't want to talk about it ok?" Marissa asked, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest as she said,"for right now, I just want to enjoy this moment with you. I just want you to hold me for now."

"Why does it sound like you're breaking up with me?" Tyler asked, as he felt his heart break at the thought of losing her.

When Marissa didn't answer his question, he pushed her back a little to look at her face and become concern when he saw tears running down her face.

"You're breaking up with me." Tyler stated.

"I'm sorry." Marissa whispered though her tears.

"Why? You at least owe me a reason." Tyler asked, as he removed her arms from around his neck and took a step back.

"It's for the best." Marissa said sadly, as more tears fell down her face.

"The best for who Rissa?" Tyler asked angrily.

"For both of us." Marissa whispered.

"That's bullshit and you know it." Tyler yelled, then asked,"now tell me, what's the real reason."

"There are things going on now, things about me, that I can't tell you and probably never will be able to tell you. So it's best just to make a clean break now, then drag it out." Marissa explained, then added,"trust me, this is better for you."

"Let me guess, this is when you do the whole '_it's me, not you_' speech?" Tyler asked bitterly, then added as he folded his arms across his chest,"sorry, but I'm not buying it. There is something going on here that you're not telling me."

"What do you want me to say Tyler?" Marissa asked, with a sigh.

"The truth." Tyler yelled, then added,"you owe me that much."

"I told you, I can't." Marissa cried out.

"Do you still love me?" Tyler asked, as he took a step toward her.

"You know I do." Marissa answered softly.

"Then tell me why, if you really love me, be honest with me." Tyler said, as he rested his hands on her hips and waited for her to answer.

"It's.. I-I..." Marissa stuttered, as she tried to think of a lie, something to convince him so he would stop asking. She couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't tell him what she was now and that his uncle was blackmailing her, but she had to tell him something. Something she knew would set him off enough to just walk away and stop fighting this.

She was going to have to break his heart, something she never wanted to do. She was going to have to lie to him, which was something else she never wanted to do.

Marissa took a deep breath then looked up at him. She tried to appear honest as she told him the biggest lie she could think of. "It's Jeremy, I'm in love with Jeremy."

Since becoming a vampire and remembered what happened between her and Jeremy, and remembered the love she had for him, she wasn't completely lying. She did love Jeremy, but wasn't completely in love with him, not like she was with Tyler, but Tyler didn't need to know that. She needed him to believe she needed to break up to be with Jeremy, even if it wasn't the truth.

Tyler lowered his eyebrows in angry as he looked at her and could tell she was lying. He didn't know what made him madder, the comment or the fact that she was lying to him. Without a word, he removed his hands and took a step away from her as he began to walk across the room.

When he made it to the stairs, he turned around and said,"you know, you're right. It is for the best."

He didn't wait for her to say anything, as he continued angrily,"I already have enough people lying to me and keeping things from me, and I don't need that from you too, so if that's how it's going to be, then you got your wish, we're through."

Marissa bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back a sob, as he turned back around and stomped up the stairs. Once she was alone, she sank down to her knees, her tears raining down her face. Her heart might not beat anymore, but it could still break. She knew that cause it was breaking into a million pieces right now.

She wasn't sure how long she had been on the floor of the cellar crying, but when she heard a growling sound from up above, she quickly stood up and listened in, trying to figure out what was going on outside. She wasn't sure if she should go investigate or stay put, but when she heard her sister scream out, she raced up the stairs without a second thought.

Marissa ran through the woods, following Caroline's racing heart, then skid to a stop when she saw her and Matt backed up against a tree staring at a wolf that was in front of them. It was growling at them and she feared it was going to attack them at any moment.

"Rissa." Caroline breathed out when she saw her sister standing there.

"Rissa, run!" Matt added, neither one wanting to see the wolf attack her.

Marissa shook her head at them, feeling her fangs slid out from her gums. She snarled at the werewolf, getting it's attention. She was about to rush over toward it, prepared to fight it if it came to that, until she felt someone grab her shoulder and stop her. She glanced over to the side and noticed it was Stefan.

"Don't." Stefan said simply.

"That's my sister!" Marissa snapped, then added,"I'm not going to let anything hurt her or Matt. We need to stop this monster."

Stefan threw an arm out to stop her from running off again, then said,"I get it Ris. I do, but we need to be careful."

"Screw careful." Marissa yelled back.

She glanced over at her sister, her face completely vamped out, causing Caroline to gasp and grab on to Matt. Her face fell, realizing she was scaring them.

Stefan turned her around to face him then said,"you and me, we're gonna run. It's going to follow us; we need to lead it away from Caroline and Matt." He paused for a minute to make sure she was listening to him, then continued,"you need to run as fast as you can. Do you understand me?"

As Marissa nodded her head, he yelled out,"go, go!"

Marissa ran through the woods as fast as she could, feeling the wind rush through her hair, then paused for a moment to see if the werewolf was following them. She looked over at Stefan, who had just came to a stop, then yelled out,"what the hell is going on? Was that- Was that a werewolf?"

"Yes. He will try to kill us and he can!" Stefan answered back.

Marissa heard a noise coming from behind her, assuming it was going to be the werewolf, she quickly spun around, but was surprised to see that it was Tyler approaching them.

"What are you two doing?" Tyler snapped, as he folded his arms across his chest. He was still upset and mad at her from the BS breakup from earlier.

"Tyler you need to get out of here." Marissa said fearfully, not wanting the werewolf to come after him next.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked, a little nicer after seeing the scared look on her face.

Marissa looked over at Stefan for a moment, wondering what lie they should tell him. She hated having to lie to him again, but it wasn't like they could tell him the truth. She turned back to look at Tyler and opened her mouth, but before she could say a word, she felt herself falling backwards and slam into the ground on her back.

She gasp in surprise when she saw the werewolf sitting on her chest and growling at her, feeling his hot breath on her cheek. She tried to push it off of her, but it was a lot stronger than she thought it would be.

Stefan rushed over at them, using all his strength to push it off of her. Marissa quickly jumped up and took a few steps toward Tyler in case it went after him, but before the werewolf could rush toward one of them again, Tyler yelled at it. Marissa and Stefan watched in surprise as the werewolf looked at Tyler, then walked away from them.

Marissa looked over at Tyler with a relieved looked on her face, as she breathed out a '_thanks_'.

Tyler nodded his head, but didn't say anything as he turned to walk off.

Marissa watched him take a step or two, then called out his name. She knew he was still mad at her and he had every right to be, but she didn't want them to end this way. She knew he was hurting just as badly as she was and she hated that. She never wanted to hurt him.

"Ty, wait." Marissa called out, as she walked over to him.

She saw him open his mouth to ask her what she wanted, but before he could utter a word, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his for a heated kiss. Getting lose in the moment, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him as he kept the kiss going on for a moment until he remembered earlier when she dumped him. He wasn't sure what kind of game she was trying to play now, but he wanted no part of it.

"What the hell Ris?" He snapped, as he pushed her away from him.

She caught his eyes and widen her eyes the way she was taught to compel him, then said,"I know I'm being very confusing right now and I'm sorry about that Ty." She swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to hold the tears back, as she continued,"the truth is I love you. God, I love you so so much Tyler, but we just can't be together. My life is just to dangerous right now and I can't put you in the middle of it. I would die if something happened to you, so as much as it kills me, I have to let you go."

Marissa placed her hands on either side of his face, a few tears finally escaped and ran down her face, as she said,"you're not going to remember any of this, but you will remember all the good times and remember how much I love you, but it's over. It has to be. You don't like it, but you understand and you're going to move on."

"You have to move on." She added softly, feeling her heart break at the words. She knew it would kill her seeing him move on to someone new, but knew it had to be done. He deserved to be happy, even if she wasn't.

"And now you're going to close your eyes." She whispered and waited for his eyes to flutter shut. "I'm going to kiss you and when you open your eyes I'm going to be gone. You're going to go home and that's the end for us." She continued quietly. She stared at his face for a moment, more tears raining down her face, before she pressed her lips against his for a moment, just wanting to remember what it felt like to have his lips against hers.

Tyler opened his eyes and looked around the dark woods. He could have sworn he was just talking to Marissa, but he couldn't remember what happened or what was said. He wasn't even completely sure they did talk. It was like the memory was fading away, making him wonder if he just imagined it.

'_I must have just imagined it_.' He thought to himself, as he shook his head, getting rid of the confusing memories from his head. He turned around and make his way toward his car, heading home.

"You ok?" Stefan asked, as he glanced over at Marissa while the two walked through the woods, heading back toward Caroline and Matt. He overheard the break up between her and Tyler and could tell from the look on her face that she was upset.

Marissa shook her head at his questioned before mumbling,"I don't want to talk about it."

She was this close to falling apart and knew if she talked about it she would lose it and she couldn't lose it. At least not right now. Now she needed to circle back and make sure the werewolf didn't go back after her sister and Matt, she needed to make sure they were ok.

Stefan nodded his head, deciding it was best not to push her now. He could tell she was barely holding it together.

The two walked in silence as they got closer to Caroline and Matt. Marissa called out her sister's name when she saw her up ahead and took a step toward her until Caroline threw out her hands, crying out for her to stop.

Marissa tilted her head to the side in confusion as she saw the scared look on her sister's face. "Care, what's wrong?" Marissa asked, as she tried to walk toward her, but Caroline took a quick step back.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Caroline called out, then added,"I saw your face Ris. What is wrong with you?"

Marissa silently swore to herself, with everything that just happened, she had forgotten she had vamped out in front of them a few minutes before.

"It's ok, Care." Marissa said, trying to calm her down.

"No, it's not ok. You're not my sister. I don't know what the hell you are, but you are not Rissa." Caroline cried out. She looked Marissa in the eyes, as she added,"you're a monster and you need to stay the hell away from me."

Marissa bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back the tears. Her worst fear was coming true. Someone she loves turning her away and having them see her as a monster.

Stefan glanced over at Marissa, hearing her breathing pick up and realized she was trying to keep from falling apart. He rushed over to Caroline and Matt, catching their eyes, then compelling them to be quiet and not to move.

Once he knew the compulsion worked, he walked over to Marissa, who turned away from him and reached up to wipe at her eyes. He reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her.

"It's ok, Ris. She doesn't mean it, she just doesn't understand." Stefan quietly said, then added,"I'll compel them to forget and then she'll see you just like you are, as her baby sister. She'll forget all of this."

"But I won't." Marissa said tearfully.

"Rissa ..."

'I got to go." Marissa said, interrupting him.

Stefan open his mouth to stop her, but before he could say a word, she was gone in a flash. He sighed then walked over to Caroline and Matt, compelling them to forget everything that happened that night, especially the part about Marissa. He reminded them that she was still the same girl on the inside and there was nothing different about her. She was still Marissa Forbes.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After leaving the woods, Marissa ran and didn't stop until her vision became blurry from her tears. She leaned against a tree, a small sob escaping from her lips. She placed her hand over her mouth, trying to hold it in. She glanced up and realized she was right outside the Gilbert house, right under Jeremy's bedroom window to be exact.

She looked around, making sure no one was watching as she jumped up to the second story and stood on his windowsill, She reached out to push the window up, glad to see that he still left it unlocked for her.

Jeremy had just walked into his bedroom from taking a shower, when he heard his window open, followed by a body hitting the floor. He lowered his eyebrows in confusion as he looked over at the floor. For a moment he wondered if he should call someone since he was home alone, but when he saw the blonde hair, he knew it was Marissa. He breathed out a sigh of relief, glad it wasn't some other vampire, then became concern when he noticed she wasn't moving, causing him to rush over to her, worried that she was hurt.

"Rissa... Rissa.. What's wrong?" Jeremy asked, as he dropped down beside her.

"Jer .." Marissa whimpered, as she raised her head to look at him. As soon as she saw his face, she broke down. The loud sob she had held back finally came out, as her whole body shook from her break down.

"Rissa what happened?" Jeremy asked, as he brushed her blonde hair from her face trying to get a good look at her.

"I broke up with Tyler. I didn't won't to, but I had to. I had to do it." Marissa cried out.

"What do you mean you had to?" Jeremy questioned.

"My life is going to get him killed. I'm bad for him. I'm bad for everyone. I'm a monster. I shouldn't even be here." Marissa sobbed, as she went to stand up before Jeremy reached out to stop her.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward him as he said,"you're not going anywhere Ris. I got your back, remember?"

"Always." Marissa muffled voice said back, her face pressed against his shirt.

He laid his hands on either side of her head, pulling her back and forcing her to look at him, as he added,"you're going to stay right here and tell me everything that happened. You're not alone Rissa. You are never alone."

She told him about breaking up with Tyler, leaving out the Mason parts, there was no need bringing that part up. There was nothing that anyone could do and she knew it was just piss him off and the last thing she needed was Jeremy going after Mason. She didn't want him anywhere near Mason. She already hated him being around Tyler, even though deep down she felt like Mason really did want to protect him, but she still hated him for what he made her do.

She explained to Jeremy about the werewolf and then Caroline's hurtful words, by the time she was finished, she was trying to hold back a sob again. The more she thought about everything that happened that night, the more it hurt and the harder it became to breathe.

"I'm sorry Ris, God I am so sorry." Jeremy said, as he tried to brush her tears away, only to have more take their place. He hated to see her hurting like this. When they were younger and she came to him crying, he could make it right somehow. Her favorite toy broke, he would buy a new one. She wanted a pet, he found her a frog. There was usually something he could do, but they were not little kids anymore and these problems were out of his hands. He didn't know how to heal her broken heart.

"It hurts Jer. It hurts so bad and I-I feel like I'm dying." Marissa said, as another sob escaped.

Jeremy pulled her back toward him, wrapped his arms tightly around her, wishing again there was something he could do to help her though this, but all he could do was hold her in his arms as she cried for the whole night, and that is exactly what he did.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey all! Sorry for the delay in the new chapter. I was honestly dreading this chapter. I did not want to break her and Tyler up, but this was always my plan. Before you all kill me tho, let me just say that just cause they are broken up now doesn't mean there isn't hope for them later and they will still be in each others lives. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Is it wrong that I hope I made at least one person cry? lol. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story and big thanks to Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, lose-your-mind, RHatch89, kaylee Adkins loves 1D, winxgirl1997, Snixx66, LunaEvanna Longbottom, runawaycherry93, Dark G0ddess, MissWhatEver207, Lucy Greenhill, Madison Fell, Psycho17, RoseRedGurl and Guest for reviewing. Thanks for sticking with me and this story. Don't forget you can follow me on tumblr if you're not already. Happy reading!_


	34. Memory Lane:Part 1

**Memory Lane ~ Part 1**

* * *

><p>The next morning, Marissa laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Earlier she watched the sun rise, enjoying seeing the light chase away the shadows. There was a time, after being turned, she thought she would never get to enjoy the sun again, something up until that point she had taken for granted, but now she could enjoy it again and she would never take it for granted.<p>

When she felt Jeremy shifting around beside her, she rolled her head to the side, seeing him slowly open his eyes then looked over at her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jeremy asked, although he already had an idea what her answer would be.

"Not good." Marissa mumbled.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Jeremy questioned, seeing the puffiness under her eyes. He knew most of it was probably from all the tears she cried, but figured the rest was from lack of sleep.

"Not really." Marissa answered tiredly. "I just keep going over the break up in my head, over and over again and I .." She began to say, as tears filled her eyes.

"Hey, shh, come here." Jeremy whispered, as he reached out to grab her, pulling her toward him.

Marissa rested her head on his chest, tears falling down her face, as he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to help calm her down. He hated seeing her so upset and there was nothing he could do about it. He would admit, he was never a big fan of her dating Tyler, but he knew how much she loved him and Tyler had proved time and again that he really loved her. He knew Tyler made her happy and honestly that was all he wanted, her happy.

Of course now, she was devastated. He didn't really understand why she broke up with Tyler, other than she worried for his safety, but he didn't push her on it. If this is what she thought was right, he wasn't going to argue with her. He would just be there for her, the best he could.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jeremy asked her, feeling like he should be doing more to help his best friend through her first heart break, but was at a loss.

"You're doing it, Jer." Marissa whispered, as she snuggled up closer to him, glad she had him there to help her.

"How about some food? You hungry?" Jeremy suggested.

Marissa shook her head, not in the mood for breakfast. She was too heartbroken to eat. Just the thought of eating made her sick to her stomach.

"Not even for ice cream?" Jeremy questioned, knowing how much she loved it.

"Ice cream?" Marissa asked, as she raised her head to look at him.

"Mm-hm." Jeremy said with a nod, then added,"I remembering seeing some in the freezer yesterday."

"Mint chocolate chip?" Marissa asked, listing her favorite flavor.

"I honestly don't remember what kind it was." Jeremy said, then added,"but we can go check."

"That means I have to leave this bed then, right?" Marissa questioned.

"Yes. It means you have to get up." Jeremy said with a chuckle, as he moved her from his chest so he could sit up.

"I don't want any then." Marissa whined, as she pulled the comforter over her head.

Jeremy laughed at her antics, then pulled the comforter off of her, as he said,"come on, Ris. It sucks, I know it does, but you have to keep going. You have to live your life and one day, it'll get better. That day won't be today, but you got to start somewhere, and what better way to start your day than with ice cream."

"Fine." Marissa mumbled, as she stood up from the bed. "But it better be mint chocolate chip." She added, as she walked pass him to leave the bedroom.

The two teens made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. Jeremy walked over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer, taking out a carton of ice cream. He turned around to face Marissa, with a smile on his face, showing her what flavor the ice cream was.

She gasped in surprised and clapped her hands when she saw it was her favorite, mint chocolate chip. Jeremy chuckled as he walked over to her and sat the carton in the counter. As she removed the lid, he walked over to one of the drawers, taking out two spoons then walked over to her, handing her one of the spoons.

"I don't know why you are so surprised." Jeremy said, then added,"did you honestly think I would have any other kind of ice cream but your favorite? I know better than that, Ris."

"Thanks, Jer. You do know me best." Marissa said with a smile, as she placed a spoon full of ice cream in her mouth, moaning a little as the flavor hit her tongue.

Jeremy shook his head and laughed, as he grabbed a spoon full for himself. For some reason she always moaned with the first bite, even though she had eaten the ice cream a million of times in her life, she still always moaned and he thought it was the cutest thing ever.

The two friends ate a few more bites in silence, then Marissa sat her spoon down, looking over at Jeremy, who was now sitting beside her at the counter. She flashed him a small smile, then folded her arms on the counter, resting her chin on them, as she said,"thanks Jer, this did actually help a little bit."

Jeremy sat his spoon down, as he turned to face her, he rested a hand on her arm, lightly squeezing it, as he said,"like I said before, I know it's hard. It's always hard losing the one you love, but just remember it for what it was, remember all the happy times and don't dwell on the sad parts." He paused for a moment, thinking how hard it was to love her and not be with her. That was something he had to live with for a while now and it never got easier. He lowered his head as he added,"at least you two gave it a try. Some people never get to be with the one they love."

Marissa watched him, remembering that moment they admitted they loved each other, before Damon compelled them. It seemed like it was a lifetime ago, and she couldn't help but wonder if the feelings were still there. Was he thinking of her right now? Or maybe he meant Vicki or even Anna, either way, she hated to see him like this.

She sat up then laid her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her, as she whispered,"I'm sorry, Jer."

"For what?" Jeremy asked confused, then added,"shouldn't I be the one saying that to you? You're the one going through a break up."

"Yeah, but, I know you have had your share of heart ache too, and for that I am sorry." She explained. She lightly caressed his cheek, as she added,"you deserve the best, Jer. You deserve to fall completely head over heels over someone, and let me tell you, that is going to be one lucky girl."

Jeremy shook his head as he reached up to grab her wrist, pulling it from his face, before he leaned down and kissed the palm of her hand. "No, I'll be the lucky one." He said, as he raised his eyes to look at her.

Marissa felt a fluttering in her stomach as he stared at her. Maybe the feelings he had for her then were still there, she knew the feelings she had back then were back, which made things confusing since her feelings for Tyler were still there too. She loved both boys, she wasn't sure how it was possible to love two people at once, but she did.

She thought about talking about all of this with him. All her thoughts and confusing feelings, but before she could say a word, they heard the front door open, ending the moment they were having.

They stood up and made their way toward the door, when they heard Jenna calling out, asking if anyone was home to help. They saw her holding several paper bags in her hands, trying not to drop them. They rushed over toward her, grabbing some of the bags, then the three walked into the kitchen, sitting the bags down on the counter.

"What is all of this?" Jeremy questioned his aunt.

"Today is the barbecue, remember?" Jenna said to him.

"Oh, right, I remember now." Jeremy said, as he began to take things out of a bag and put them away.

"What barbecue?" Marissa asked, confused.

"With Mason back in town, Ric suggested we should do a cook-out or something and I completely agree. I missed Mason." Jenna explained, as she turned away to put something in the refrigerator, missing the disgusted look on Marissa's face at hearing his name.

"You two are welcome to join if you want." Jenna offered, as she turned back around to face the teens. "Elena will be here too and I know she invited Stefan. Unfortunately Damon is coming too, but it should still be fun."

"No, thanks. I can literally think of a million things I would rather do then be at this barbecue." Marissa said, as she made another face.

"Ouch! Hurtful." Jenna said, as she laid the box she was holding against her chest and acted like she was hurt by the comment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Marissa said with a laugh, then added,"you know I love you Jenna, I just don't think this is my crowd."

"It's Damon, right?" Jenna said, only half joking.

Marissa chuckled, but didn't say anything. Truth be known, she really didn't have that much of a problem with Damon. He was actually becoming like a big brother type, which surprised the hell out of her.

No, Mason was the one she wanted to avoid, but she couldn't tell Jenna that without telling her a lot more things she wasn't ready to tell.

"Well if you change your mind, you are welcome to drop by any time today." Jenna said to her, then added,"you can even bring Tyler if you want. The more the merrier."

Marissa felt her heart drop at hearing her ex boyfriend's name. She couldn't blame Jenna, she didn't know they have broken up, but it still hurt to hear it. She shot Jenna a small smile, then said,"thanks, but I plan to just stay in bed all day, which reminds me, I should be heading home."

She gave Jeremy a hug, thanking him for being there for her, then gave Jenna a wave, as she left the Gilbert house. She went through a few backyards and made it to her street and house a lot quicker since she could race across the yards when no one was looking.

She walked up the porch steps and made her way toward the front door, reaching out to grab the door knob, when the door suddenly opened with Caroline on the other side. Marissa looked at her sister for a moment, flashing back to the night before in the woods, when she saw her vamp out and called her a monster. She was so terrified of Marissa and wanted her far away from her.

Marissa wasn't sure what her reaction now would be. Stefan said he would compel her, but she left before he did so she wasn't sure if he ever did or not. She was worried for a moment that Caroline was going to freak out at seeing her, and in a way she did, but not cause she was a vampire, but because she missed her little sister.

"Hey! There you are!" Caroline said happily, as she rushed forward to hug her sister.

Marissa gave her a small pat on the back, then stepped away, walking pass her and going into the house. It was a little hard to be excited when she kept hearing the word '_monster_' echoing in her head.

Caroline turned around to look at her sister, a confused and surprised look on her face. Marissa was acting weird, but she had no idea what was wrong with her.

"So, where you been? With Tyler, I would assume." Caroline said, then gasp, as she added,"oh my God, how awesome was his party yesterday?"

"It was ok." Marissa mumbled. Tyler or the party, were the last two things she wanted to talk about.

"It was more than ok. Everyone had a blast." Caroline said, then added,"you and Tyler looked like you were having a great time last time I saw you two."

"Yeah, well, the good times didn't last." Marissa said sadly. When Caroline shot her a confused look, she softly added,"me and Tyler broke up last night."

"Oh, my God, Ris, are you ok? What happened?" Caroline asked, as she stepped forward to hug Marissa, but before she could, the younger girl turned and walked away, going into the kitchen to grab whatever chocolate snack she could find.

Caroline followed along behind her, as she began to say,"he didn't hurt you did he? Cause if he did..."

"No, no, it wasn't him who ended it. It was me." Marissa said interrupting her.

"But why?" Caroline asked confused.

"Things are just different now." Marissa said, as she walked pass Caroline again, this time heading for her bedroom. "I'm different." She mumbled to herself.

"This doesn't make any sense." Caroline said, hoping her sister would explain more, but when she kept walking, she called out to her, telling her to stop.

"What?" Marissa asked, as she turned around to face Caroline.

"What is going on with you, Ris? I know how much you love Tyler, so why would you just end it? This doesn't sound like you at all." Caroline said with a concern look on her face.

"Maybe I'm just a monster." Marissa said, tossing out the word her sister called her, the one that still hurt her every time she thought about it.

"What?" Caroline asked, feeling even more confused.

Marissa shrugged then turned around and began to walk to her bedroom, ignoring Caroline this time when she called out to her, and instead walked into her room and slammed the door shut.

Caroline looked at the bedroom door in confusion, then turned to leave the house, planning to meet up with Bonnie to go shopping, she knew it was always best to not push Marissa until she was ready to talk.

Marissa kept her forehead pressed against her bedroom door. She hated acting the way she did toward Caroline, but was still just so hurt. Every time she looked at Caroline, she kept seeing the fear in her eyes, she was scared of her and never wanted to be around her again.

Even if Stefan made Caroline forget, she didn't. She remembered, and didn't see any point in going back to the way things were. If Caroline ever found out again one day, the fear and hurtful words would be back, so why put herself through that. It was best to distant herself from her sister now then get hurt again later.

Marissa softly sighed then turned around and gasped when she saw Elena sitting on her bed. She placed a hand on her chest, as she said,"jeez, Elena, you scared me."

"Sorry." The brunette said sincerely, as she stood up from the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Marissa asked, as she tossed the snacks she got earlier from the kitchen on to the bed.

"I just wanted to check on you. I know things haven't been easy for you lately since you were turned." She explained.

"Yeah, it's been pretty bad." Marissa said with a sigh, as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sometimes I still wonder if I can even do this. If I can handle being like this for the rest of my life." She added.

"You can do it, Rissa. With the right people on your side." She pointed out, as she took a step toward the blonde.

"Yeah, Damon and Stefan have been helping. It helps me knowing they believe in me." Marissa said back.

She shook her head, her curly brown hair moving with her, as she said,"I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about someone else. Someone who can really show you how much fun it is to be a vampire."

"Who?" Marissa asked with a confused look.

The brunette leaned down, placing her hands on the bed on either side of Marissa. With her face inches from the blonde, she opened her mouth, flashing her fangs, as she said,"me."

"Katherine." Marissa breathed out in fear, as she scooted back and quickly jumped off the bed.

"You have to admit, I am getting really good with being my doppelganger." Katherine said with a laugh, as she turned around and fell back on to the bed. She pulled herself up to the head of the bed and leaned back against the pillows as she said,"come on, be honest. On a scale of '_yeah right, keep trying_' and '_wow, you are exactly like Elena_', how good did I do?"

"I would say you landed around, '_freaking psychopath_'." Marissa answered, as she pressed herself against the wall, trying to get as far away from Katherine as she could.

"Aw, is that any way to talk to the person who gave you such a incredible gift?" Katherine questioned, as she sat up.

"Gift? This is not a gift, this is a curse." Marissa snapped.

"You just don't know how to use it to your advantage yet." Katherine said back, then added,"I was serious before, I can teach you how to really be a vampire. To be the bad-ass everyone will love or fear. Sometimes both."

"I don't want anything from you." Marissa said, as she slowly walked toward the door, her back still pressed against the wall.

"And here I thought we were becoming friends, Ris." Katherine said, as leaned back against her elbows with a pout.

"Don't call me that. Only my _friends _can call me that." Marissa snapped.

Katherine head fell back with a sigh, as she said,"you are so over dramatic." She heard the door creak as Marissa tried to slowly open it and escape. She jumped up from the bed and in a flash, slammed the door shut and pushed Marissa against the door, as she added,"and not as sneaky as you think you are."

"What do you want from me?" Marissa whimpered.

"I need you to be my eyes and ears. To do my dirty work." Katherine answered, then added,"you're going to help me get what I came here for."

"And what is that?" Marissa asked.

"Stefan Salvatore." Katherine answered with a dreamy smile.

"And how am I suppose to do that?" Marissa asked.

"Well for today, you have to distract Elena while I get to spend some much needed alone time with him." Katherine answered. She shoved Marissa aside, unblocking the door, then reached down to open the door. She glanced over at the blonde beside her, then added,"and don't even think of double-crossing me, or I'll start crossing off the people from your list of loved ones."

She flashed Marissa a smile, as she called out,"have fun at the barbecue."

Marissa slide down the wall and sat down on the floor, pulling her knees up to rest her chin on them. She didn't want to team up with Katherine, but looked like she didn't have a choice. If she didn't do what she said, she would kill the people closest to her and she couldn't let that happen. She would do whatever to protect the ones she loved, even teaming up with the devil who looked a lot like one of her friends, Elena Gilbert.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Many minutes later, after showering and changing her outfit, Marissa was walking up the stairs and heading for the Gilbert's front door. She rang the bell, glancing around the yard with a sigh, until she heard the door open, causing her to turn her head back and seeing Jenna standing in front of her.

"Rissa?" Jenna said with a confused look, then added,"what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming."

"Well after I got home I thought about it and realized it sounded like a lot of fun, so here I am." Marissa lied.

"Great, well, come on in." Jenna said, as she ushered her inside, then shut the door. She placed a hand on her shoulder, as she added,"maybe you can help me talk Jeremy into staying. He still refuses to attend the barbecue."

"And I still refuse to stay." Jeremy said, as he walked down the stairs. He paused when he saw Marissa, then said,"Ris? What are you doing here?"

"She's here for the barbecue. Unlike you, she realizes how much fun it is going to be." Jenna said, as she stuck her tongue out at her nephew before walking off to go into the kitchen, to finish preparing for the cook-out.

Now that they were alone, Jeremy continued to walk down the stairs, stopping in front of his friend, as he quietly said,"ok, seriously, why are you here?"

"I don't trust Mason." Marissa answered, then added,"and I just figured if he was going to be here, maybe I should be too." She couldn't tell him about the Katherine stuff, she couldn't get him involve or risk getting him hurt by Katherine, so she had to settle with giving him the half truth. She really didn't trust Mason, and she did want to keep a close eye on him, make sure he wouldn't hurt Tyler in the end.

"Well I was going to the Grill, but I can hang around here if you need me to." Jeremy offered.

"No, go ahead." Marissa said, as she pushed him toward the door, once again not wanting him involved with this.

"Meet me there later?" Jeremy offered.

"It's a date." Marissa said, then paused when she realized what she said. "I-I don't mean '_date' _, I mean we'll hang, ya know?" She quickly added.

Jeremy laughed at her stuttering then said,"yeah, Ris, I knew what you meant."

"Ok, good." Marissa said, as she shook her head at herself. She gave Jeremy a hug, then said,"see you later."

He gave her a short wave, then opened the front door, walking out of it.

Marissa took a deep breath, then slowly released it. Today was going to be a long day.

She walked into the kitchen, seeing Jenna getting things together. She glanced around for a minute, as much as she hated to, she knew she had to do what she was sent there to do. Keep Elena distracted.

"So where's Elena?" She questioned, as she looked over at Jenna.

"Upstairs." Jenna answered, then added,"she will be down in a few."

Marissa nodded her head right as the door bell rang. Jenna lifted her head to look at the younger girl, as she asked if she could grab that for her. She nodded her head again then turned to walked back into the living room. She opened the door, trying to groan out loud when she saw Mason on the other side.

Yep, today was going to be a long day and it's just getting started.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey all! I am so sorry it took so long to update this story. I feel like I am always apologizing. I suck! lol. But I still hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I figured I would break it up this episode so it doesn't get too long. Hopefully the next part won't take so long, but I make no promises. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to LunaEvanna Longbottom, winxgirl1997, Mei31, totalRandum, Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, Lucy Greenhill, lose-your-mind, RHatch89, WeasleySweaters101, Candyluver2121, Dark G0ddess, SparksofBravery, SlytherinValkire, jessica . orr . 1884, cecld16, Iris RainbowWolf, RoniCullen and Guest for reviewing. Don't forget you can follow me on tumblr, where I post things about different stories. The link is on my profile. Speaking of, I just posted a video I made for this story. Just look under the 'You'll Ask For Me' tag. Thank you all again, happy reading =}_


	35. Memory Lane:Part 2

**Memory Lane ~ Part 2**

* * *

><p>"Hey, Marissa. Didn't expect to see you here." Mason said, as he took a step into the Gilbert house.<p>

"Yeah, well, now that I am single I have a lot of time on my hands." Marissa said sarcastically.

Mason shot her a tight smile. She might never believe him, but he did feel bad for making them break-up. He saw how badly it bothered Tyler, but he knew it was for the best. He wanted to keep his nephew out of all things supernatural.

"Hey, Mason! Come on in." Jenna called out from the kitchen.

Mason smiled and gave her a short wave, then began to walk toward the kitchen. As he passed by Marissa, he paused for a moment, leaning toward her, as he quietly said,"you did the right thing."

"Bite me." Marissa growled.

Mason softly chuckled, like he knew something she didn't, which he did. He knew what a werewolf bite could do to a vampire. "Trust me, you don't want that." He simply said, as he began to walk again. Leaving her at the front door as he went into the kitchen to talk to Jenna.

Marissa watched them hug and began to joke around, causing her to roll her eyes. While still watching them, she began to close the door, until she heard someone call out. She turned her head and realized she was about to shut the door on Damon.

"Whoa, watch it, Mini Forbes." Damon said, as he laid his hand on the door, pushing it back open.

"Sorry." Marissa mumbled, as she stepped aside for him to walk in.

As he stood beside her, they heard Mason and Jenna laughing in the kitchen, causing both of them to look over at the pair.

Marissa shook her head and mumbled,"ass", at the same time Damon mumbled,"dick."

After hearing what each other said, Damon and Marissa turned their heads to look at each other. Damon smirked as he said,"so I take it you don't love your future uncle-in-law."

Marissa softly gasped at his comment, the pain of losing Tyler hitting her. She glanced over at Mason for a moment, her hatred for him intensified, then she looked back over at Damon with a pained looked on her face.

"What is it?" Damon asked, seeing that his comment upset her.

"Tyler and I broke up." Marissa softly said.

"Oh, I.. I, uh..." Damon began to say. He had no idea what to say about that. Actually caring about someone and their feelings was something new for him. When he came back to town, months ago, he never planned to get attached to anyone, but somehow it happened. He befriended a few people here and there, and now he actually cared when they were upset or mad about something.

He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, then continued,"I'm sorry, Mini Forbes. I always knew that Tyler kid was a punk."

Marissa softly chuckled at him trying to comfort her. She looked up at him as she said,"thanks, Damon, but it wasn't Tyler. It was me. I'm the punk, not him."

Damon looked at her with a confused look. Even a blind person could see how crazy she was for the youngest Lockwood. So what made her all of a sudden decide to dump him?

He saw her look over at Mason again and began to put two and two together. He would bet everything he had that Mason was behind it somehow, which made him even more eager to out him, then after he proved he is a werewolf, he was going to take care of him. They didn't need someone like that in their town.

"Don't worry, Mini Forbes, it will all be taken care of." Damon said over at her, as he kept his eyes on Mason.

Marissa opened her mouth to ask him what he meant by that, but before she could say a word, he walked passed her and made his way into the kitchen, leaving the younger girl confused.

She thought about going after him, questioning him about what he was going to do. Chances are if Damon had a plan, someone was going to get hurt.

Before she could take a step though, she heard the stairs creak as someone stepped on them. She turned her head to the side, seeing that it was Elena and remembered her real mission. Distract Elena or lose a loved one.

"Hey, Ris, how are you?" Elena said with a concern look, when she saw the younger blonde.

"I'm ok." Marissa said back. "Jeremy or Stefan?" She questioned, wondering which one told her about the break-up with Tyler.

"Stefan." Elena answered, as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She reached out to hug Marissa, as she said,"I know the first break-up is hard. Hell any break-up is hard, but I'm here for you, ok?"

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she took a step back, feeling guilty for having to spy on Elena and keep her from Stefan, but she really had no choice.

The two turned their heads toward the kitchen when they heard laughter coming from the others. Elena turned her head to look back at Marissa, as she suggested,"why don't we go outside to talk?"

Marissa nodded her head to answer, then followed along behind the brunette as the two went outside and sat side by side in a chair. Marissa saw Elena check her phone, but didn't comment on it, she had a feeling she was waiting for Stefan to call or text, but she knew why he wasn't returning her call, Katherine had her grubby little claws in him at the moment.

"So how are you, really?" Elena asked, as she looked over at Marissa.

Marissa shrugged her shoulders, then said,"not good, but it's for the best."

"Is it?" Elena questioned back. She paused for moment, then added when Marissa looked over at her,"I'll be the first to admit, I didn't understand you and Tyler, I didn't think you two made sense together. It's no secret that I always thought you would end up with Jeremy, but after seeing you and Tyler together, and seeing how much you two care for each other, I get it now. You two are great together, but now I'm confused again, cause I don't understand why you ended it."

"He's human and I'm... I'm not." Marissa stated simply.

"That shouldn't matter. I mean look at me and Stefan, I freaked out at first, but I accepted what he is and I'm sure Tyler would too." Elena pointed out.

"It's not that simple, Elena. Maybe from your point of view it is, but you're not the one who has to fight the urge every time you are around someone you love." Marissa said back, then added,"the night I got out of the hospital, the night of the carnival, I wanted to bite him. I wanted to bleed him dry. What if I was to slip up one day and actually do that? I could kill him. And before you say that couldn't happen, let's not forget that I have slipped up and killed someone. Who's to say Tyler wouldn't be next?"

She paused for a moment, before continuing,"you think it's easy for Stefan to be with you? You're a constant temptation to him and he hates that."

"He said that?" Elena sadly asked.

"The desire to rip out your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there." Marissa snapped, as she stood up from her seat. "It's why I had to break up with Tyler, and it's you and Stefan are not going to last." She added, as she paced in front of Elena, playing with her hands, as she tried to control her anger.

She didn't mean to snap at Elena and she hated that she had to try to convince her that being with Stefan was wrong, she knew how right they were for each other, but unfortunately she had to do Katherine's dirty work, which is what made her so angry. She hated the position she was in and there was no way out of it.

"Are you ok?" Elena asked with a worried look, as she watched Marissa carefully. She didn't like the things she was saying, but she knew this wasn't Marissa. She wasn't acting like herself, something was wrong.

Marissa stopped pacing and took a deep breath before turning to face Elena. She gave her a half-smile, then said,"yeah, I'm just hungry."

As Elena nodded her head, accepting the answer, Marissa cleared her throat, then began to say,"listen, Elena, I'm sor- .."

Before she could finish apologizing, Alaric stepped outside, interrupting her, as he said,"Hey! The food's ready, come get it."

After he went back inside the house, Elena stood up from the chair and nodded toward the door, as she said,"go on inside, I'll be there in a minute. I'm going to try to call Stefan again."

"No! You can't!" Marissa called out nervously, then quickly added,"I mean, you shouldn't. He's probably busy or something, you don't want to come off as a needy girlfriend."

Elena looked at her closely, then asked seriously,"Rissa, are you sure you're ok? You're not acting like yourself at all."

"I told you, I'm fine." Marissa said, then added,"can we just go eat, please? You can call Stefan later or something, I'm sure he'll be here as soon as he can."

"Ok. Let's go." Elena said, as she ushered Marissa toward the front door. She made a note to herself to talk to Stefan later about the way the younger girl was acting.

Many minutes later, after eating way too much, Marissa excused herself and went to the bathroom, just needing a moment alone. After sitting across from Mason and trying not to roll her eyes every time he spoke or worst, ripping his head off, she needed a minute to calm herself down.

She checked her cell phone to see if she had any text messages from Katherine and was disappointed to see she didn't. She wished she would hurry with whatever she was doing, she didn't know how much longer she could keep Elena from trying to contact Stefan.

She sent Katherine a quick text, wondering how much longer she would be, then walked out of the bathroom and made her way back into the living room where she saw Mason, Alaric, Jenna and Damon playing Pictionary. She stood behind the couch and turned her head to the side, as she looked at Damon's drawing, before saying out loud,"what the world is that?"

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna called out, trying to guess.

"Puppy! Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Marissa yelled, figuring she would give it a try.

"No, no." Damon said, as he pointed to the drawing.

"A dog! Hound-dog! You ain't nothing but a hound dog." Jenna tried again.

"Dances with wolves." Mason answered, unamused.

"Mason wins... again." Damon said with his trademark smirk.

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna questioned, causing the others to laugh.

"Hey, where's Elena?" Marissa asked when she realized she wasn't in the room.

"She went to see what's keeping Stefan." Alaric answered.

"What?" Marissa blurted out. As the others looked at her, wondering what the problem was, she made her way into the kitchen, mumbling to herself,"oh no. This is not good. Not good at all."

She pulled out her cell phone, sending a quick text to Katherine, telling her that Elena was coming so she better leave and fast. She had just hit send, when she turned around and gasp in surprise when she saw Damon behind her.

"You ok?" Damon asked, when he saw the panicky look on her face.

"Y-Yeah, um, I'm-I'm good." Marissa lied.

"You're up to something." Damon stated, then asked,"why are you really here, Ris?"

"Why are you really here, Damon?" Marissa asked back.

"I think it's the same reason you are." Damon answered. For a moment Marissa worried he did know why she was really there. Did he know she was there to keep an eye on Elena, did he know she was working with Katherine. She swallowed hard as she waited for him to continue, to yell at her for teaming up with the enemy, but instead he looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was near by, as he said,"I don't trust Mason."

"Yeah, neither do I." Marissa mumbled, relieved he didn't know about her ties with Katherine.

"Be straight with me, Ris..." Damon began to say, as he leaned closer to her, then continued,"is he responsible for your break-up with Tyler?"

Marissa looked at Damon with wide eyes, she was shocked, she couldn't believe he had figured that part out. While she was worried he would figure out the Katherine thing, he had actually figured out the real reason she broke-up with Tyler.

"I'm going to take that look as a '_yes_'." Damon said, as he straightened up. "Well, like I said earlier, don't worry. I'll take care of it." He added.

"What does that even mean?" Marissa questioned.

Damon looked over his shoulder again, making sure the coast was clear, then turned back and quietly said,"I'm going to prove that Mason is a werewolf."

"A were- what?" Marissa asked surprised,then added,"wait, you think Mason is a werewolf?"

Damon nodded his head then said,"think about it Rissa, we both saw him at the carnival when he was fighting Brad. It's not just him though, I think something is going on with all the Lockwoods."

"What?" Marissa breathed out, hoping it wasn't true. Then that meant Tyler was a werewolf and she didn't want that for him, she didn't want this supernatural life for him.

"Vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founder's Day but the Gilbert device did." Damon pointed out.

"Wait, is that what caused Tyler to wreck? the Gilbert device?" Marissa questioned.

"I think so." Damon answered.

"Why has no one told me this before?" Marissa asked, getting upset. "You all knew this about my boyfriend... I mean ex boyfriend and his family and no one told me?" She added.

"I'm telling you now." Damon stated.

Marissa blew out a breath, a cross between annoyed and worried. She thought staying away from Tyler would keep him safe and now she wasn't so sure.

Before anything else could be said, she heard her cell phone go off, letting her know she had a new text message. She glanced at her phone, seeing that it was Jeremy, asking if she was still meeting him at the Grill.

She was about to text him back, when she heard someone walk into the kitchen. She glanced up and tried not to groan when she saw it was Mason.

"Hey, I heard there was cobbler." Mason said with a friendly smile, as he looked at Damon and Marissa.

"Yeah, why don't you start us off." Damon suggested as he pushed the cobbler toward him. He glanced down at sliver handed pie server, waiting to see if Mason would grab it.

"And that is my cue to leave." Marissa mumbled, as she sent a text to Jeremy, telling him she was on the way. She glanced over at Damon, who shot her a look back, reassuring her that everything would be ok.

She left the kitchen and walked into the living room, waving bye to Jenna and Alaric, thanking them for inviting her, then walked out the front door.

She quickly made her way to the Grill with a million different thoughts running through her head. She was worried about Tyler, could it be possible that he was a werewolf? She couldn't see it being possible. He was normal teenage boy, he never came off as having a huge supernatural secret, but there again she had her own secret that he didn't know about. Could it be possible that he was keeping a secret of his own?

She was also worried about what Katherine was going to do since she didn't keep Elena away like she was supposed to do. She would never forgive herself if something happened to someone she cared about cause she couldn't do a simple task. She just had to hope that Katherine was understanding, but she had a feeling that wasn't possible.

Several minutes later, she opened the front door and walked into the Grill. She glanced around for a moment, looking for Jeremy, and saw someone who still took her breath it away. It was Tyler.

The two looked at each other from across the room for a moment, she was itching to go over and talk to him. Mainly cause she missed him, but also to question him, see what he did know about the whole werewolf thing, if he knew anything at all.

Before she could make a move toward him, she heard Jeremy call out her name and just like that, the moment was over between them.

Marissa looked over at Jeremy for a moment, then glanced back over at Tyler, seeing the hurt in his eyes as he realized she was there for Jeremy. He would be lying if he said for a moment he hoped she was there for him, but she wasn't, she was there for Jeremy, and that hurt. She was moving on and even though he knew he was suppose to be doing the same, it wasn't easy. She was still all he wanted.

With a sigh, Tyler shook his head, then sat his drink down as he stood up from his seat. He looked over at her one more time, then without a word, he lowered his head and walked past her, making his way out the door.

Marissa blew out a breath, wishing she could go after him, but figured it would just make things worst, besides Jeremy was waiting for her and with the way her day was going, the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint someone else.

"Hey, how was the barbecue?" Jeremy asked, as she sat in the seat across from him.

"It was ... informational." Marissa answered.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked confused.

Marissa leaned across the table, getting closer to him, as she quietly asked,"did Elena tell you about the Lockwoods?"

"No, what about them?" Jeremy asked.

"Apparently they are werewolves." Marissa answered.

"What? Seriously?" Jeremy asked surprised, then added,"so, wait, does that mean Tyler- ..."

"I don't know." Marissa interrupted. "Damon is convinced Mason is one, but I don't know about the rest." She added.

"Tyler never mentioned anything about it?" Jeremy questioned.

"Nope. Never." Marissa said.

"We need to find out what he does know." Jeremy pointed out.

"I know, but how?" Marissa asked, then added,"there is no way he'll talk to me."

Jeremy gave her a sad smile as a waiter walked over toward them to refill their drinks. Once he was gone the two friends casually talked, keeping the conversation away from anything werewolf or vampire related, for now, they just wanted to be two friends who were hanging out and being normal, they could figure everything else out later.

The two talked for a couple of hours, then Marissa stood up to go to the restroom. After leaving the stall, she walked over to the sink to wash her hands. She turned off the sink, then looked up, gasping in surprise when she saw Katherine standing behind her from the mirror.

Marissa swallowed hard, then turned around to face her, waiting to see what she would say or do to her.

"Care to share how you couldn't follow through one simple task?" Katherine questioned.

"I tried. I told her not to call Stefan, to wait for him. I did what I could, Katherine." Marissa tried to explain.

"Well you didn't do your best." Katherine hissed.

"I'm sorry... I-I'll do better, I promise." Marissa vowed.

"You better." Katherine said, as she took a step toward Marissa, causing the younger girl to take a step back. "If you can't do your job, then you are no use to me. I'll kill everyone you love, then kill you. Don't forget, I've already killed you once, I can easily do it again."

Marissa was too nervous to say anything back and instead just nodded her head. She glanced down for a moment, seeing her hands shaking, then looked back up to notice that Katherine was gone.

She took a deep breath, trying to control her nerves, then walked out of the restroom and made her way over to Jeremy.

"You ok?" Jeremy asked, when he saw the look on her face.

"Yeah." Marissa softly said.

"Well, I'm heading home. You want me to walk you?" Jeremy offered.

Marissa shook her head. She wasn't ready to go home. What was there to go home to? An absent mother and a sister that was terrified of her. "I think I'll just hang out here a little longer." She said.

"Call me later, ok?" Jeremy said. After she nodded her head, he stepped forward to hug her, then added,"and if you need a place to crash, I'm here."

"Thanks." Marissa said with a small smile, as she hugged him back.

He smiled back at her, then made his way toward the front door. She stood in place, watching him walk out the door.

Once Jeremy was gone, she sat back down at the booth, then compelled a waiter to bring her a soft drink mixed with liquor. She slowly drank from the glass, then looked up when the door opened and Elena walked in with Stefan. The couple walked past Marissa until she spoke up and called out Elena's name.

Stefan softly squeezed Elena's shoulder, then walked away, giving the two girls a chance to talk.

Marissa stood up, giving Elena a small smile, before saying,"Elena, I am so sorry about earlier today. I'm just- I'm a mess. This break up with Tyler is harder than I ever thought it would be and I took that out on you. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I know you're going through a hard time." Elena said.

"So you're not mad?" Marissa asked with a hopeful smile.

"I'm not mad." Elena said. She gave Marissa a soft smile, then turned to go join Stefan.

Marissa smiled, then turned to head for the front door, until she heard Elena and Stefan talking. She paused, pretending she was looking at her cell phone, as she used her vampire hearing to listen in to their conversation.

She heard them talking about Katherine. Stefan thought they should take Katherine serious, but Elena refused to be scared of her. Marissa knew that was foolish, she knew Katherine wasn't someone to mess with and from the sounds of it, Stefan agreed, as he began to tell Elena they should do what Katherine wanted, they should break-up.

Marissa's mouth dropped open in surprise. She never thought Stefan would give in to Katherine so quickly, and even though she hated to see them break-up, she was kind of relieved, now maybe Katherine would go easier on her.

She quickly left the restaurant before Elena or Stefan realized she was eavesdropping. Once outside, she quickly text Katherine, giving her the update on Elena and Stefan. She began to walk down the sidewalk, heading home, when she heard her cell phone beep, letting her know she had a new message.

She paused for a minute, taking her phone out and reading Katherine's message. It read,"_I have another job for you_."

Marissa sighed, she had hoped once Stefan and Elena broke up, Katherine would leave her alone, now she was starting to fear that would never happen. She feared she was doomed to doing Katherine's dirty work for the rest of her life.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n - hey all! Hope you liked the chapter. I'll be honest, I'm not too crazy about it. I knew how I wanted it to go but it just wouldn't come out right. But I know I kept you all waiting long enough. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to Hanna West, totalRandum, Lucy Greenhill, Bronzelove, RHatch89, LunaEvanna Longbottom, SparksofBravery, kaylee Adkins loves 1D, Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, hellraiserphoenix, cecld16, RoniCullen, UpdateSoonPlease, 2lip123456789 and TSCxHG for all have no idea how happy it makes me that people are still loving this story. Thank you all again, happy reading!  
><em>

_p/s - did you all catch the season finale? I won't say much and spoil it, all I will say is, they better fix it next season. This season was not good at all, but hopefully next season will be. _


	36. Kill or be Killed:Part 1

**Kill or be Killed | Part One**

The next morning, Marissa made her way in to the kitchen, surprised to see her mother was still there. She was usually long gone by the time she woke up. She mumbled out a greeting, as she walked over to the refrigerator.

She opened the door and glanced inside, trying to figure out what she wanted to eat. She knew what she really wanted- blood, but since her mother was still home she couldn't sneak any in somehow. Giving up on finding anything, she just grabbed a bottle of water, then slammed the refrigerator door shut.

"Are you feeling okay this morning?" Her mother questioned her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Marissa answered with a sigh. She really wasn't fine. She was a freaking vampire for crying out loud and she just broke up with her boyfriend; whose family may or may not be werewolves, and she was being threatened by a friend's doppelganger. So no she was not okay, but she couldn't tell her mother any of that.

Liz nodded her head at her daughter's answer, then asked,"What was Elena doing here so late last night?" She had seen the girl leaving the house late when she arrived home from work and knew she had to be there for Marissa since Caroline was staying the night at Bonnie's at the time.

"What? Elena wasn't here last night..." Marissa began to say, as she lowered her eyebrows in confusion. She had not talked to Elena since overhearing her and Stefan breaking up at the grill. Suddenly she realized who her mother saw. It was Katherine.

The doppelganger had showed up the night before to explain what she needed her to do next. She needed her to get something called a moonstone from the Lockwood house. Marissa had no idea how she was going to do that since she and Tyler were broken up, thanks to Mason's threat.

Realizing her mother was still waiting on an answer, she stuttered a few times, then added,"Oh, right, Elena! Yeah, she uh, she just needed my help with something."

"Are you sure you're okay, Marissa?" Liz questioned her, when she saw a flash of worry appear on her face. If she didn't know any better she would say that her daughter was scared of something or someone.

"I'm fine." Marissa stated, as she went to walk out of the kitchen until something crossed her mind. Something that she did need her mom's help with; something that she felt like she was ready to get. "Actually there is something." She added, as she turned back around to face her mother.

"What is it?" Liz asked.

"I was wondering if you could take me to try for my licenses today?" Marissa was tired of having to ask for rides or race around town to get to where she needed to. She knew for a fact that Caroline got her licenses at her age. In her mind it was only fair.

"Are you ready for the test?" Liz questioned. She knew she had never took Marissa driving.

"I am." Marissa said confidently. If she didn't do a good job, she would just compel the instructor. Either way, she would get her licenses before the day was over.

"Okay, we'll go." Liz said, causing Marissa to smile, until she continued,"And afterwards I'll even let you drive to us to the park."

"The park? Why?" Marissa asked confused.

"For the Historical Society Volunteer Day." Liz said. "Remember, Caroline wanted us all to do it together?"

"Oh, right." Marissa said. She had forgotten all about it. With everything else going on lately it was hard to remember the simple things. Plus there was the whole fact that she didn't want to do it. It was hard being around Caroline now. She would never forget the look on her sister's face that night in the woods when she saw her face vamped out. Thankfully Stefan compelled Caroline to forget, but she didn't forget.

"You forgot." Liz said, it was more of a statement than a question.

"Little bit." Marissa said. "I got something to do today, but I'll swing by later." She snapped her finger, as a thought hit her,"I can drop you off, then borrow your car and come back later."

"Okay." Liz said, after a few minutes of thinking about it. "But first you'll have to get those license."

"Don't worry. I'll get them." Marissa said with a smile.

_- (o0o) -_

Several minutes later, Marissa was driving down the road with the windows down and a huge smile on her face. Looks like everyone was right, she was a terrible driver, but none of that mattered now, cause she has her license. Even if she did cheat to get them.

Her happy mood didn't last long though once she remembered what she had to do. She had to talk to Tyler and hope she could get the moonstone from him so she could get Katherine off of her back. She hoped after doing this job, the doppelganger wouldn't need her anymore and would stop threatening the ones she loves.

She parked the car in the Lockwood driveway, then made her way toward the front door. She rang the doorbell, then slipped her hands into her front pants pockets as she waited for someone to answer the door.

When she heard the door swing open, she turned her head and groaned when she saw Mason in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Mason questioned her.

"None of your business." Marissa snapped.

"I hope you're not here to make a huge mistake... like talking to my nephew." Mason said.

"Like I said, it's none of your business." Marissa said again. She went to take a step inside, like she did often back when she and Tyler use to date, but as she went to step over the threshold she was stopped by a invisible wall keeping her from entering.

Mason smirked, as he said,"You need to be invited in."

"I've been in this house numerous of times." Marissa pointed out.

"Apparently not since you've been turned." Mason said back. "Guess whatever you had planned will have to wait cause you're not coming in."

Marissa opened her mouth to argue with him, but before she could say a word, she heard Carol calling out a greeting as she walked over toward the door to smile at the young blonde.

"Hello, dear, come on in." Carol said, smiling.

Marissa shot Mason a grin, as she stepped across the threshold and walked into the house. She turned her head to look at Carol, as she flashed her a genuine smile, then said,"Hey, Carol, how are you?"

"I'm good, dear. We were just about to leave for the Historical Society Volunteer Day." Carol said, referring to herself and Mason. "Aren't you suppose to be there with your mom and Caroline?"

"Yeah, well, I had some stuff I needed to do first." Marissa said vaguely. "I'm going to meet up with them later."

"Maybe you should meet them now. You should keep your word." Mason stated, reminding of her of their deal. Of her staying away from Tyler or he'll spill her secret.

"I'll be there soon, but this is kinda important." Marissa said to him. She turned back to look at Carol, as she asked,"Is Tyler here?"

"No, he left a while ago." Carol answered. "Were you two suppose to meet? Did you try to call him? She questioned. As far as she knew the two were still together, she did not know about the break up.

"No, we uh, we-we were suppose to meet but I don't remember where." Marissa lied with uncomfortable chuckle. "Do you, uh, did he mention where he was going when he left?"

"No, he didn't." Mason answered, causing her to shot him a quick look. She wasn't even asking him. She was trying to pretend he wasn't even standing there.

"I'm sorry, dear, I don't know where he was headed." Carol added with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay." Marissa softly said, as she tried to think where he could be. All she knew was she needed that moonstone or else.

She turned to leave, her eyes glancing around as she wondered where the moonstone could be hiding. She reached out to open the door, until Carol spoke up and said,"Oh, no, wait, I remember now. He mentioned grabbing lunch at the grill. Maybe he is still there."

"Thanks." Marissa said, as she smiled at Carol and saw Mason roll his eyes out of the corner of her eye.

She spoke to Carol for a few minutes later, then walked out of the house. She got behind the wheel of the car and began to drive down the road. She knew she needed to go to the grill to talk to Tyler, but first she needed to make another stop. She needed someone who would have her back in this, she needed her best friends.

Many minutes later, she parked the car in front of the Gilbert house and made her way toward the front door.

She rang the doorbell, then smiled when Jeremy opened the door. "Hey, Rissa. I didn't know you were dropping by today."

"I was in the neighborhood, thought I would stop by." Marissa aid, as she walked past him and went into the house.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. You know I'm always up for hanging out." Jeremy stated, as he walked over to the stairs and began to climb them to go back to his room.

Marissa followed along behind him, as she asked,"So what are you up to?"

"Well since I have the house to myself with no distractions, I was just drawing." Jeremy answered, as he walked over to his desk and sat down.

"Can I see?" Marissa questioned.

Jeremy shook his head, as he closed the sketchbook, then said,"I'm not finished."

"You're so weird when it comes to your art." Marissa joked, as she playfully rolled her eyes at him and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"You're just mad cause I won't let you look." Jeremy pointed out with a laugh.

"Perhaps." Marissa said, as she laughed with him. "So what do you think about taking a break and grabbing some lunch?" She asked.

"Sounds good." Jeremy said, as he stood up, slipping his sketchbook in his book bag.

He slipped on some shoes, then the two made their way downstairs and out of the house. When he saw her heading toward the car, he came to a stop, as he said,"Whoa, wait, you're driving now? When the hell did that happened?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, he added,"No wait, better question, how the hell did that happen? There is no way you could have passed a test."

"Apparently I did or I wouldn't be driving." Marissa lied, as she opened the driver side door. When he shot her a look, she rolled her eyes, as she said,"Okay, fine, I compelled the instructor."

"Ha! I knew it! I knew you could never pass the test." Jeremy said with a laugh.

"Bite me, Jer." Marissa said, as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Just get in the car." She added, as she slide behind the wheel.

When she heard the back door open, she turned her head in surprise, which quickly turned to confusion when she saw him get in the back seat. "What the hell are you doing?" She questioned.

"Sitting back here, where it's safer."

"You're really mean sometimes, you know that, right?" Marissa stated, as she shot him a look, even though they both knew she was kidding.

"I'm mean?" Jeremy questioned. Before she could answer, he added,"After getting in a car with someone who, if human, would have failed their driving test, I think that puts me in the running for best friend of the year."

"You know what, Jer, you're right." Marissa said. "You are best friend of the year and you know what your prize is?"

"What?"

"You get to buy your own lunch." She added with a laugh, as she cranked the car then pulled out on to the road to head for the grill.

_- (o0o) -_

"Thank God we made it here in one piece." Jeremy stated, many minutes later, as the two friends walked across the parking lot together.

"It wasn't that bad." Marissa argued. "The drive would have been better if someone wasn't yelling at me every two seconds."

"That's cause you were about to hit that mailbox!" Jeremy pointed out.

"I was not about to hit the mailbox." She said back. She thought about it for a moment, then added,"Wait, which mailbox?"

"My point exactly." Jeremy said, as he opened the door to the restaurant and let her go in first before walking in behind her.

The two friends laughed back and forth, until they saw Tyler sitting on the other side of the room, causing them both to come to a stop.

Even though she knew she had to talk to him, now that she saw him, she realized it was going to be harder than she thought. She had hoped she could push her feelings aside and just find out about the moonstone, but just looking at him made her realize how much she missed him.

"We can go somewhere else." Jeremy suggested, as he lightly grab her arm. Tyler had not seen them yet and he knew they could make a quick escape. All he knew was he hated seeing that hurt look on her face.

"No, it's okay." Marissa quietly said. "I knew he would be here."

"What?" Jeremy asked confused.

She turned to look at him, as she explained,"We need to know what he knows, Jer. Find out what we can about his family line and the whole werewolf thing." She glanced at her ex boyfriend for a moment, silently hoping he wasn't really a werewolf. She didn't want him involved with this world. He deserved to have a nice, normal life.

"You're right, we do need to find out." Jeremy said. They knew Mason was a werewolf, but wasn't sure about the rest of the Lockwoods. "But I'll talk to him, you stay here."

Marissa let out a small chuckle, as she said,"Thanks, but you should know by now I'm not some damsel in distress. I can do it."

"I know you can, Ris." Jeremy said, as he turned his head to look at her. "But you two just broke up and the look on your face says this is going to be harder than you thought." When he saw a sad look appear on her face before lower her head, he softly said,"Let me help you, Ris. I've got your back, remember?"

Marissa gave him a nod, agreeing with his words, before saying back,"And I got yours."

"I'll be back." He said, as he gave her a quick kiss on the side of the head before making his way over to Tyler.

Marissa took a few steps aside and reached the booth closest to her and sank down in the seat as she watched the two boys talking back and forth. She used her advance hearing to listen in and find out exactly what was being said.

"Hey man, how have you been?" Jeremy asked him.

"Since when?" Tyler asked back.

"I don't know, I haven't seen you much since your father funeral. I just figured maybe you'd want-"

"I'm fine, Gilbert." Tyler interrupted with a hint of attitude, causing Marissa to sigh from across the room. Apparently he wasn't going to make this easy on them.

"Yeah, okay." Jeremy said, as he turned around to leave. He shot the blonde a look, hating that he let her down, but she gave her him a small smile, letting him know it was okay.

Marissa stood up, planning to walk over to talk to Tyler herself, but before she could take a step, Tyler spoke up to stop Jeremy. "Wait, hold up. I'm sorry. Bad day, bad month."

As Jeremy turned back around to face him, he added."Listen, you were cool that day, at the wake. Thanks for that. I felt like in a freak show."

"Yeah, I know the feeling well." Jeremy said back, as he sat down at the table with him.

Hearing voices near the back of the restaurant, Marissa glanced over in the area, seeing two girls, Aimee and Sarah, that went to her school. She noticed they were looking over toward the two boys causing her to listen in more.

"When did Jeremy Gilbert get so cute?" Sarah asked her friend, causing Marissa to narrow her eyes at the girl.

"Oh no, stay away, that guy is damages goods." Aimee said.

Marissa scoffed and rolled her eyes at the comment. Jeremy was far from being damaged goods, but she did agree that the other girl needed to stay away from him. In her opinion they needed to stay away from both boys.

She turned her head back toward Tyler and Jeremy when she heard the latter asked him what he was doing, then heard Tyler say,"Distracting myself."

Marissa lowered her eyebrows, wondering what he meant by that until she saw the two girls walked over to the table. She tried not to groan out loud when she heard Aimee thank Tyler for the text message.

"Unbelievable." Marissa mumbled to herself, as she listened in to her ex making plans to hang out with these two girls. He suggested they go to his house and drink, then if that wasn't bad enough, he invited Jeremy to tag along.

She cut her eyes over to Jeremy, waiting to see what he would say and was surprised when he said,"Yeah. Yeah, I'm in."

Marissa folded her arms across her chest and lowered her eyebrows in anger, as she watched the four walk out the door together. Minutes later she heard her cell phone go off and saw she had a text message from Jeremy; promising her he would find out as much as he could and text her back.

When he sent her another text, telling her to stay put, she blew out an annoyed breath, as she quietly said,"Yeah, like that's going to happen."

Then as if knowing what she would said, he texted her one more time -_ 'I mean it, Ris. Stay there.' _

_- (o0o) -_

Marissa tried to say out of it, let Jeremy handle this on his own and stay put like he said, but she couldn't do it. She spent the first half hour at the grill, trying to force some food down but her stomach was in knots. She can't help but wonder what was going on between Jeremy, Tyler and those two girls. How long did it really take to question Tyler anyways?

After not hearing from Jeremy, she tossed some money down on the table, then stood up and made her way outside. She drove toward the Lockwood house, then parked the car in the drive way again for the second time that day.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she exited the car and rushed to the front door. Instead of ringing the door bell and being patient, she began to beat on the front door with her fist. Seconds later, Tyler swing the door open with an annoyed look on his face.

"Rissa, what the hell?" He asked when he saw it was her. He had no idea who could be beating on the door, but he never thought it would be his ex girlfriend. He wasn't drunk enough to deal with this at the moment. "What do you want?" He added.

"We need to talk." Marissa stated, as she walked into the house, thankful that Carol invited her in earlier.

"Well I'm kinda busy at the moment." Tyler said, as he took a sip of his drink.

Marissa glanced over his shoulders, seeing Sarah and Aimee drunkenly dancing around while talking with Jeremy. "Yeah, I see you've made some new friends. Didn't take long at all." She said with a hurt look on her face.

"Yeah, well, I have to move on." Tyler said.

Marissa gave a short nod, remembering that is what she compelled him to do. She knew it was for the best, but it still hurt.

"Right." Marissa mumbled. "I just didn't think it would happen so fast." She said so quietly he almost didn't hear it, but he did.

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say a word, they heard a drunken Sarah call out to him, telling him to come back to the party.

"I'll be there in a second." Tyler said back to her. He turned his attention back to Marissa, as he asked,"So what do we need to talk about?" He figured the quicker they talked, the sooner she would leave. Even though he understood about the break up, it was still hard to be around her.

She knew she should just ask her questions then leave, but she couldn't. She didn't like the thought of two drunk girls being around him. She knew she was crashing their little party uninvited, but she didn't care. She wasn't leaving.

She folded her arms across her chest, as she said,"Shouldn't you offer me a drink, first?"

Tyler blew out a breath and slightly rolled his eyes, as he nodded his head off to the side, telling her to follow him. He walked over to the small bar and made her a mixed drink. He knew she wasn't a big drinker so he went light on the liquor.

He walked back over to her, handing her the drink, as he said,"Here you go."

She nodded her head in thanks, then took a big swallow, as she nervously glanced around the room. As much as she was over there while dating, she never went into many of the rooms in the house, and the room she was standing in now was one of them.

She walked away from him, glancing around the room and admiring all the artwork hanging on the wall. He watched her closely, seeing the look on her face each time she came across something new in the room. He missed things like that; the little things about her. The smile on her face, the way her eyes light up, the looks she use to give him.

"Rissa.." He softly said, as he took a step toward her. He didn't know what he was going to say, he just wanted to let her know this wasn't easy on him, it's not what he wanted and it wasn't as easy moving on as it looked, but before he could say a word, Aimee walked into the room.

"Where is mine?" Aimee asked, referring to a drink.

As Tyler walked back over to the bar to make her one, she added,"Thanks for having us over. I think Sarah's got a thing for Jeremy."

Marissa rolled her eyes, as she kept her back toward them, but listened in to their talk. She took a sip of her drink, acting like she was still looking at the artwork in the room.

"Well, good for Sarah." Tyler said, as he handed her a drink.

Aimee took a sip, then glanced over where Marissa was standing. She didn't miss the way the two looked at each other. Rumor has it they were broken up, but it was clear to see from the looks on both of their faces, neither one has moved on.

She looked back at Tyler, as she quietly said,"Look, I'm sorry if coming here caused any problems with you two."

Tyler looked over at his blonde ex for a moment, then looked back at Aimee, as he said,"Don't be. We're broken up and moving on."

"Doesn't look like it." Aimee softly said, as she looked between the two again.

At her comment, he looked over at Marissa, trying to see what she saw. Was his ex giving off some kind of vibe that he wasn't getting? Was it just as hard for her as it was for him?

Aimee raised her eyebrows at him, as if telling him to go for it, then turned and left the room to join her friend and Jeremy.

Tyler took a sip of his drink, then walked over to Marissa, standing behind her, as she continued to look at the painting in front of her. She heard everything between Tyler and Aimee, but had to act like she heard nothing.

"Hey." Tyler said, getting her attention and stepping up to stand beside her.

"Hey." Marissa said back, as she turned her head to look at him for moment. "I like this." She added, referring to the painting.

It was a painting of a lone woman standing in the middle of a field and in a way she could relate to it. Since being turned she had felt alone a lot. She had Jeremy by her side, he was about the only one she could completely be honest with, but she hated involving him. Deep down she knew there would come a day she would have to let him go to protect him, just like she did with Tyler, and that killed her. Her fear now was that she would always be alone.

"Yeah, it's nice." Tyler agreed. "It's not like you haven't seen it before though."

"I haven't seen it before." Marissa argued.

"It's been in this room since before I was born." He pointed out.

"But I've never been in this room." Marissa said back. "You know, there are some rooms in this house I still haven't seen."

"That's not true." Tyler said, as he shook his head. He thought about it for a minute, then added,"Is it?"

"Yeah it is true." Marissa said. "You always plan to give me the full tour, but somehow we always just ended up in your bedroom." She added with a laugh, as she turned her head to look at him. "You are the worst tour guild ever, Ty."

"I never heard you complaining when you were in my room." Tyler joked.

"And I never said ending up in your room was a bad thing." Marissa said back, as she flashed him a teasing smile.

The two looked at each other for a moment, tons of memories hitting them both, before they both turned to look at the painting on the wall.

They were quiet for a moment, until Tyler cleared his throat, before softly saying,"Hey, just so you know, I didn't inviting them over here to hurt you or anything." When she turned her head to look at him, he added,"You broke up with me and it sucks. I don't like it, but I understand, and I would never purposely hurt you."

"I know." Marissa quietly said back. She blew out a breath, happy to see the compulsion was still working. She hated to compel him, just as much as she hated breaking up with him, but in the long run she knew it was for the best. Even if Mason didn't threaten to out her, she knew her life was too dangerous now. She couldn't risk him getting hurt.

"So you're not planning on asking Aimee out?" She questioned. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Nah." Tyler said, as he shook his head. "I'm still trying to get over the last girl I dated." He said honestly, as he looked at her from the corner of his eye to see what her reaction was.

Marissa lowered her head for a moment, as she smiled at his words. She knew she should say something, she should push him to move on and forget her, but a part of her was happy to hear his words. Even if it made her feel selfish for loving it.

The two went into another comfortable silence, until she remembered something Aimee said, then asked,"Do you think it's true? That Sarah has this big crush on Jeremy all of a sudden?"

Instead of answering her, Tyler scoffed, as he shook his head. When she asked him what was wrong, he glanced over at her, with hurt in his eyes, as he said,"So that's why you're here. For Jeremy."

"What-No!" Marissa stated. "That's not-"

"Actions speak louder than words, Ris." Tyler interrupted. "From the moment you walked in this house, I saw it, you were jealous about them being here." He added, referring to the girls. "And it seems like you're more jealous about the fact that a girl is interested in Jeremy, than if one was interested in me."

As she shook her head to disagree, he added,"Plus that's the reason you gave for breaking up, right? Cause you love Jeremy?"

She lowered her head, remembering the lie she told him the night she broke up with him. She did feel something for Jeremy, but the truth is she was still very much in love with Tyler. She couldn't tell him that though, she couldn't be with him. Speaking those words out loud would just hurt them both.

"You know, when you first gave me that excuse, I thought you were lying, just making it up, but now I see that maybe it is true. Maybe one of us has already moved on." He said, before taking a sip of his drink, hoping he didn't sound as hurt as he felt.

Even if he was trying to hide it, she could feel the sadness coming off of him and hated that she was hurting him. She raised her head to look at him and opened her mouth to disagree with his comment, but before she could say a word, he cut her off,"Why don't you just ask what you need to ask, so I can get back to my guest."

There was so much she wanted to say to him to make thing better, but feared she would only make them worst. Deciding to do what he said, she blew out a breath, then said,"Well, what we needed to talk about was-"

Before she could finish Sarah, spying Jeremy's sketchbook inside his book bag sitting on the couch, came into the room, as she asked if she could look at it.

At first Jeremy said no, then when Sarah grabbed it, he remembered some of the drawings in there, the werewolf drawings, and figured it was a good chance to start a conversation about it later with Tyler. At the time he didn't even think about what else could be in the book..

As everyone crowded around the sketchbook, Marissa let out a annoyed sigh, realizing her talk with Tyler was over now, then walked over to join the others.

Sarah flipped through the book, coming across a few random drawings, then came across one he drew of Marissa. When she passed by several more of the blonde, the two girls looked over at her for a moment, as Tyler and Jeremy avoided looking at anyone. Both boys were in love with the same girl and they couldn't think of anything more awkward than that.

"I'm surprised there are so many of you in here." Sarah stated, as she looked over at Marissa.

"I'm not." Tyler said bitterly, as he took a sip of his drink.

"I just draw what I know and I know my best friend." Jeremy said, trying to down play it. He wasn't going to point out that he drew her cause he loves her. That would just make the situation even more awkward.

Marissa smiled at the comment, until Sarah spoke up and said,"Maybe you can draw me sometime." She shot him a flirty smile, as she added,"After you get to know me more, of course."

"Uh, yeah, maybe." Jeremy said, unsure what else to say back. He glanced over at Marissa for a moment, seeing the annoyed look on her face and could swear she almost looked jealous as well, which surprised him.

He turned his attention back to Sarah when she came across his werewolf drawings and commented on them. He saw how uncomfortable Tyler looked as he took the notebook from Sarah and asked Jeremy what the pictures were about.

Marissa and Jeremy were watching him closely now, as the latter said,"Just some sketches. You still draw, Tyler?"

"A little, but not much." Tyler answered, as he flipped through a few more pages. Stopping on a picture of a wolf Jeremy had drawn. His finger lightly tracing the wolf outline. "You know, I've something that I'm actually working on." He nodded his head toward the other room, as he added,"Come on, I'll show you."

Jeremy and Marissa looked at each other again, both wondering what Tyler wanted to show him. Then he looked back at Tyler, as he said,"Yeah. Okay, sure."

"I want to see too." Marissa offered.

"I dunno if that's a good-"

"I'm going too." She said, interrupting Tyler. Whatever he was planning she was going to be there.

Knowing he couldn't talk her out of it, he nodded his head, as he led both of them toward his father's office, while Sarah and Aimee went back to drinking. As they walked into the room, Tyler instructed Jeremy to look on the desk, then told Marissa he had more up in his room, asking her to go get them, trying to get her out of the room so he could question Jeremy privately.

She nodded her head, then left the room, heading over to the staircase until she heard the sound of someone being slammed against the wall, followed by someone being choked. She rushed back into the office, seeing that Tyler had Jeremy pinned against the wall with his hand around his throat.

"Tyler!" Marissa called out, but he ignored her, as he called out to Jeremy,"Answer me! Why? Why wolf pictures?"

Marissa rushed over to the them and grabbed Tyler's shoulder, pulling him away from Jeremy. He bent over for a moment, trying to catch his breath, before he said,"Because... Because, I know, Tyler."

"You know what? You know what, Jeremy?" Tyler snapped, as he tried to take a step toward him until Marissa stepped in the way to stop him. He was too anger at the moment to even question how the hell she was able to hold him back. At the moment, he just wanted to know what Jeremy knew.

Jeremy glanced over at Marissa, wondering if he should say what he was about to say. When she gave him a nod, telling him to go on, he looked back at Tyler, as he said,"I know what you are."

"What?" Tyler breathed out, trying to act like he had no idea what he meant by the comment.

"I know." Jeremy stated again.

"We both do." Marissa quietly added, as she glanced over at her ex, seeing the look in his eyes; a mixture of fear and confusion. From that look she realized whatever was going on with his family, he didn't know much and the little he did know terrified him.

Tyler took a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and them, as he asked,"How do you two know about all this?"

Marissa cut her eyes at Jeremy, as she shook her head, begging him not to give away her secret. He nodded his head back in understanding, knowing another way he could admit things. "My uncle John left this old diary lying around. It was written by a crazy Gilbert ancestor who wrote about this curse that run in your family."

"A curse about what?" Tyler questioned, even though he had an idea what the answer was.

"Werewolves." Marissa answered, as she looked over at Tyler with a concern look on her face, hating that this- whatever this was; was happening to him.

"You believe this too?" Tyler asked Marissa, as the two locked eyes.

"I do." She softly said.

"It's crazy, right?" Jeremy added. As Tyler sightly rolled his eyes, and turned his back to them, Jeremy continued, "But then, Caroline and Matt was attacked by a wolf under a full moon and your uncle has just gotten back to town. It was too weird."

Marissa and Jeremy walked toward Tyler; who had sat down on the couch, drinking from his glass. The blonde kept her eye on her ex, as she asked,"Is it true?"

"About my uncle?" Tyler questioned, as he turned his head to look at them. He paused for a moment, before finally nodded his head, as he said,"Yeah."

Marissa took a step closer to him, as she sat down beside him on the couch. "But, Ty, are you- you're not-"

"A wolf?" Tyler interrupted her. "I'm sorry a werewolf?" He added, still finding all of this hard to believe. He closely watched her for a moment and could see how worried she was for him, she was just as scared for him as he was for himself. He couldn't stop himself, as he reached out to take her hand for a moment, needing that comfort from her and finding himself missing it.

He ran his other hand over his hair, as he said,"No. I mean, not yet." Tyler felt her squeeze his hand, urging him to go on, causing him to added,"You know, hell, just- just saying that out loud, I sound insane."

"No, you don't." Marissa softly said, as she caught his eye. She intertwined their fingers, as she added,"I promise you, you're not insane, Ty."

"How does it happened?" Jeremy questioned, interrupting the moment between them and getting their attention. "I mean, how do you become a werewolf?"

"According to my uncle, you have to trigger the curse." Tyler began to explain, "Somebody has to die at your hands, like a murder or an accident. I basically have to cause death and then, boom; next full moon, I'm howling on all fours."

Marissa squeezed his hand again and blew out a breath, as she vowed to herself not to let that happen to him. She has caused death before, because of her someone died and she had to live with that guilt every day. She didn't want that for Tyler or the curse of turning every full moon. Somehow she had to protect him.

"Is that why he came back? To tell you all this?" Jeremy questioned, wondering if that was the real reason for Mason's return to town.

"Yeah, right." Tyler said with a bitter chuckle. "He had to tell me. I caught him. He's not here from me." He removed his hand from Marissa's, already missing the contact, then reached into his pocket to pull out a stone. He held it up for Marissa and Jeremy to see, as he added,"He's here for this."

Marissa's eyes widen when she realized what it was. It was the moonstone Katherine wanted. That stone was why she was sent there and handing over that stone to Katherine would cause her to leave her loved ones alone. She needed that moonstone.

"Can I see it?" Marissa asked, hoping Tyler would just give it over to her.

"Yeah, sure." Tyler said, as he placed it in her hand.

She stood up from the couch, looking at it closely and wondering to herself why it was so important to Katherine. What did she need it so bad for that she would threaten her loved ones over it.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked.

"It's a moonstone." Marissa softly said, as she continued to look at it, until she felt their eyes on her. She looked up, seeing that both boys were looking at her, wondering how she knew that. She shrugged, as she said,"What? I know things."

Tyler shook his head and gave a small chuckle at her comment, before saying,"I looked it up online. It's a natural rock but there supposed to have all sorts of supernatural legends attached to them."

"Why didn't you give it to him?" Jeremy questioned.

"Because he wants it. I'm a dick that way." Tyler stated, causing Jeremy to chuckle while Marissa looked over at him and shook her head to disagree. He might like for people to believe he's a dick, but she knew better than that. She knew the real Tyler.

"It's important to him for some reason but I don't trust the guy so I'm not just gonna hand it to him." Tyler continued to explain to them.

Marissa looked down at the stone in her hand, wondering if she just asked for it would he give it to her or if she should just try to leave with it. Either way she knew she had to get it, if she couldn't give it to Katherine she couldn't imagine with the vampire would do to punish her.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door open, as Aimee and Sarah walked into the room to join them. Sarah made her way over toward Jeremy, as she called out,"Found you."

"Hey, you three are missing all the drinking." Aimee added, as she stood beside her friend.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you three having a moment?" Sarah asked, seeing how serious they looked. "A little menage a trois?" She joked.

As Marissa rolled her eyes at the comment, Tyler said,"No, we're good."

"Hey, hey, what is that?" Sarah asked, spying the moonstone in Marissa hand's. Before the blonde even knew what was happening, Aimee jerked the stone from her hand.

"Give that back!" Marissa snapped, as she went to go after the girl, before Jeremy quickly stood up to hold her back. The last thing they needed was for her to vamp out and hurt someone, and he could tell from the look on his friend's face, that is exactly what she wanted to do to Aimee.

"Pretty." Aimee stated, as she looked at the stone in her hand.

"Okay, let's not play with the rock." Tyler said, as he stood up and began to walk toward Aimee, needing her to give it back.

"Well, come and get it." Aimee teased, as she brushed past her friend while taking several steps backwards, making Tyler follow her.

"Look, I'll play along for a little bit but seriously, give it back." Tyler said, already feeling annoyed by this little game, but was trying not to lose his cool.

Aimee removed her hand from behind her back, showing that she didn't have the moonstone anymore, as her friend Sarah spoke up and said,"Lookie here." When the other three turned their heads, they saw that Sarah had the stone now.

"You snooze, you lose." Sarah said, before turning around and running from the room.

As the others chased after her, Marissa rolled her eyes, as she mumbled to herself,"This is why you don't party with stupid, drunk girls."

She left the room to catch up with the others, seeing that Sarah had begun to climb up the stairs. When Tyler told her to give him the moonstone, she replied that she wanted Jeremy to come get it.

"Just give it to him." Marissa said with an annoyed sigh. "This whole, flirty, drunk act, is not cute."

"Yeah, Sarah, don't be a bad drunk." Her friend, Aimee, added.

"Jeremy, come upstairs with me. See how a bad drunk I can be." Sarah teased, as she shot him a flirty smile and ignored Tyler; who was walking up the stairs toward her.

Jeremy glanced over at Marissa for a moment, seeing the same jealous look on her face as before. He kept his eyes on her, as he called out to Sarah,"I'm good, thanks."

Sarah's face fell as she saw the way Jeremy and Marissa were looking at each other, but before she could dwell on it too much longer, Tyler tried to grab the stone from her hand.

The two went back and forth a few times until Tyler finally got it from her. Unfortunately, during the struggle, Sarah lost her balanced and rolled down the stairs, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

"Oh, my God." Marissa breathed out, as she placed her hands over her mouth. With wide eyes, she glanced up, seeing the look of panic that came over Tyler's face, before he ran down the stairs to check on Sarah.

The other three rushed over to Sarah to check on her. Marissa came to a stop beside Tyler, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. She wanted to let him know no matter what happened, she was there for him.

While Jeremy and Aimee tried to wake Sarah up, Tyler turned his head to look at the blonde beside him, he was relieved she was there for him, but couldn't help but feel like his life was over. He couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario, that he had just caused someone death and would be a freaking werewolf now.

Marissa and Tyler kept their eyes on each other for a moment longer, then turned back to look at Sarah with bated breath, wondering what was going to happen.

They didn't have to wait long, when Sarah's eyes popped open and she laughed, before saying,"Fooled you."

Marissa blew out a relived breath, then without thinking, wrapped her arms around Tyler's middle to hug him. Out of instinct, he pulled her closer to him and rested his head on top of hers, feeling whole once again.

Jeremy glanced up to look at them, feeling just as relieved as them, then felt his face fall when he saw Tyler holding Marissa. He quickly looked away and lowered his head to look at Sarah, making sure she was okay and tried to ignore the hurt he felt. Just cause they were broken up didn't mean they would move on from each other fast or that he even had a shot with her.

Marissa raised her head to look up at Tyler for a moment, feeling that familiar flutter, and saw him watching her intently. As much as she enjoyed being in his arms, she knew it wouldn't right. Things like this would just confuse them both, causing her to regrettably take a step back from him.

No matter what she had to keep her distance from him, she would be there as a friend to help, but she couldn't be with him.

Tyler looked away from her, trying not to feel rejected. He turned his attention to the fallen girl, as Sarah said,"You pushed me on the stairs!"

"Look, he didn't mean it, okay?" Jeremy stated, knowing it was all just an accident, but luckily it didn't turn out worst than it did.

As Aimee helped her friend up, then took her to another room to double check she was okay, Marissa made her way over to Jeremy, telling him she had to go and asked him to get a ride from Tyler. He nodded his head, telling her okay, then watched as she quickly walked out of the house.

After everything that just happened; the almost unfortunate accident and all the closeness with Tyler, she had to get out of there. It was all just too much for her to take at the moment.

She walked over to her car, reaching out to grab the handle, until she heard Tyler call out for her, as he walked out the house and made his way over to her.

"Where are you going?" He questioned, when he caught up to her.

"I promised I'll help out with the Historical Society Volunteer Day. I should have been there hours ago." She stated, glad she had that as a excuse to leave. "I probably should have just went there instead of here." She quietly said.

"So why did you come here, Rissa?" Tyler asked. "Was it cause of Jeremy?" He took a step closer to her, before softly added,"Or was it cause of me?"

Marissa shook her head for a moment, as she said,"I honestly don't know anymore." She knew she had to get the moonstone from him, that was the original mission, but that could have taken mere minutes to do, so why did she have to stay longer. Was it jealousy or something more?

The two silently looked at each other for a moment, before Tyler leaned forward, his lips inches from her. He waited a minute to see if she would pull back or not, but when he saw her eyes flutter shut, he laid a hand on the side of her face to cup her cheek before he closed the gap and pressed his lips against hers for a gentle kiss.

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and melting into the kiss. He ran his other hand down her side before wrapping it around her waist and pulling her closer. He let out a groan when she nibbled on his bottom lip for a moment, before capturing his lips for another kiss.

As the two rested their foreheads together to catch their breath, he quietly said,"I know I'm suppose to be moving on, but I can't walk away from you, Ris."

Marissa smiled for a moment, remember when it told her that before, the night they first kissed. But as much as she loved him, they couldn't be together, which meant as much as she hated to do it, she would have to walk away from him.

A pained look appeared on her face, as she pulled back and whispered out,"We can't do this, Ty." She shook her head, as tears filled her eyes, and she added,"And trust me, this kills me just as much as it does you, but it's for the best."

Tyler scoffed, as he took a step back from her, then said,"I just don't get you, Rissa."

"I know and I'm sorry for that. You just have to trust me on this." She said, as she turned around to open the car door until his comment made her stop.

"I don't know if I do anymore."

She turned her head to look at him with tears in her eyes. As much as she hated to hear that, she didn't blame him. She had not been truthful with him in awhile, ever since she was turned. She nodded her head, accepting the comment, then opened the car door and slid behind the wheel.

Tyler stood in the same spot, watching her, as she crank the car and drove away from his house. She turned down a couple of roads, putting as much distance as she could between them, before she pulled off the side of the road and laid her hands on the wheel. She rested her head against her hands with a pained sigh, as tears fell from her eyes.

The day had already taken a turn for the worst. Tyler was almost seconds away from becoming a werewolf, although thankfully it didn't happen, but she'll never get that look of panic that came across his face from her mind. He was terrified of becoming one and she didn't blame him. She never wanted to be brought into this world and turned into a vampire. It wasn't easy and she never wanted that for him.

She also hurt him once again and made him even more confused than he was before, then on top of all of that, she still didn't have the moonstone. She just hoped she could talk Katherine into giving her a little more time. She would have to ask him for it another day cause she couldn't handle that now. She couldn't handle being around him anymore today. It was too hard.

For now she had to join her mother and sister while she pretended like everything was fine. Now she had to go act like the perfect, normal, sister and daughter while she volunteered at the park. What more could go wrong?

_- (o0o) -_

_a/n - hey all! Sorry it took so long to update this story. For a while I was working on a teen wolf collab with a friend and since then been trying to get back into some of my own stories. Hopefully I haven't lost you all on this story lol. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and I'm gonna try not to take so long with the next chapter. Cause I do miss this story and want to get back into it. I got a lot of stuff planned for it. I've been slowly re-editing it cause I know the beginning chapters had tons of mistakes, but the story itself is not changing so you shouldn't have to read it again. Also if you're not already you can follow me on tumblr (link on profile) I post snippets and stuff on there for this story and others. Thank you to everyone reading and/or review. Also a big thank you to hellraiserphoenix, TheInsaneDuckkie, RHatch89, ArtemisLuna85, Ain'tEasyBeingBreezy, winxgirl1997, Guest, Guest, jessica. orr .1884, LunaEvanna Longbottom, 2lip123456789, Lucy Greenill, Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, xxlisagalloverxx, Juliaesther, RoniCullen, lijahsgirl, awesome pichu, SarcasticEnigma, marceltheshellwithshoeson, TeamComrade11, harronhermy and thatwritersdream for reviewing. You all have no idea how happy it makes me that so many of you still enjoy this story. Happy reading =)_

_PS - If any of you are Klaus and/or Kaleb fans, I've been working on a originals story with a friend. It's starting in season 1 and is a Klausxoc and Kalebxoc story. The account it is on is New Orleans Darling and the story is called Dark Paradise. You can find it under my favorite stories. _


	37. Kill or be Killed:Part 2

**Kill or be Killed | Part Two**

After parking the car near the park, Marissa exited the car and began to walk toward all the townspeople who showed up to help. She glanced around, looking for her mother or sister, but didn't see either one. She did however see the Salvatore brothers and made her way over toward them, calling out a happy greeting once she was in front of them.

"Do you two know where my mom or sister is?" Marissa questioned. She looked around, as she added,"Or anyone I know for that matter. So far you two are the only ones I recognize here."

"Caroline had an errand to run and your mom is around her somewhere." Stefan answered.

"Great. Just my luck." Marissa mumbled. "Well, if they're not here helping, neither am I." She looked over at Stefan, as she asked,"So how is Elena doing? I mean, have you two talked any since the break up?"

"Oh they talked and argued. Longing looks were exchanged and hearts were breaking." Damon said sarcastically, as he looked over at his brother, letting him know he didn't buy any of it.

"I said drop it, Damon." Stefan warned his brother.

"What?" Marissa asked, as she looked at the brothers, wondering what they were talking about.

"I just mentioned to Stefan that I'm not buying this whole faux drama between him and Elena." Damon stated.

"Wait, you two are not really broken up?" Marissa quietly asked with wide eyes. If they were faking a break up and it got back to Katherine, she didn't want to know what the vampire would do to all of them.

Stefan sigh as he looked away from the blonde in front of him, not sure how he should answer. It's not that he wanted to lie to her, but he and Elena were pretty sure she was working with Katherine, so the less she knew the better.

Before he could figure out the right words to say, a little girl walked over to them and held out a cup of lemonade, asking if they wanted any. Damon took the cup from her hand, smiling sweetly at her as he thanked her.

Marissa looked back over at Stefan, waiting for him to answer her, as Damon took a sip from the cup. When he quickly spit it out and began to cough, Stefan and Marissa rushed over to him.

As Stefan led him off to the side, Marissa went in search for water. After grabbing a bottle, she rushed over to the brothers, handing Damon the bottle. He took a few swigs of water, gurgling it, then spit it out.

"What happened?" Marissa questioned, with a concern look on her face.

"Vervain." Damon choked out, before taking a few more swigs of water.

Stefan glanced around, seeing Mason looking over at them for a moment, before he went back to what he was doing. He turned back to look at his brother, stopping him as he went to go after Mason.

"I'm gonna kill him." Damon growled, as he tried to push past his brother. Stefan pushing him back, forcing him to sit down, as he said,"Listen to me! Sit!"

Marissa looked around, noticing a few people were looking at them, then stepped closer to the brothers, trying to block for them. She saw Mason looking at them again and narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was behind this.

"I'm not listening to anymore of your 'give peace a chance' crap." Damon snapped. "He's dead!"

"He's got a point." Marissa spoke up, getting the brothers' attention. "Mason has made one too many threats. He needs to be stopped."

"Who else has he..." Stefan began to say until it hit him. He looked at the blonde, as he stated,"That's the reason you broke up with Tyler. He threatened you."

Marissa slowly nodded her head, before softly said,"He said he would tell everyone; my mom, the council, that I'm a vampire." She blew out a breath, relieved to finally be telling someone the truth. "And I knew if I was exposed, it was only a matter of time before you two were as well."

"Time for playing nice is over." Damon pointed out.

"Okay." Stefan finally said, surprising them both. "I don't like it but he's making threats. He could expose us all. We need to put him down."

"Alright. Let's do it." Damon said. He saw Mason heading for the woods and pointed over toward him, as he said,"Woods. Trash duty. Come on."

As he stood up, Marissa asked,"So what are we doing? What's the plan?"

"We're not doing anything." Damon said, as he gestured between the three of them. He pointed to himself and Stefan, as he added,"But we're going to take care of it."

"But-"

"He's right, Rissa." Stefan interrupted her. He looked at the blonde, then added,"You shouldn't be a part of this."

"But I can help."

"We know." Damon said, before sarcastically adding, "We know you could be a little bad-ass hellraiser, if only the big, bad vamps would let you, but it's not happening, Mini-Forbes. Not this time."

"You're a dick." Marissa said to him, as she shot him a look, which only made him flash her his trademark smirk in return.

"Look, Rissa, this could get ugly. It's best if you sit this one out." Stefan stated, getting her attention. "Find Elena and stay with her, okay?"

Marissa blew out an annoyed breath, then nodded her head. She hated to sit this one out. After threatening her, she wanted a shot at Mason too, but she understood what they were saying.

Stefan gave her shoulder a pat as he walked past her and Damon shot her a look of thanks. He knew she wanted her revenge too, but he appreciated her not fighting them on this. There would always be more battles in the future, but this was one he and his brother needed to finish.

Once the brothers walked toward the woods, Marissa set out to find Elena. She finally located her near the waterfall. She began to explain to her what was going on, until she saw her mother walking across the parking lot talking on the phone.

"Where is she going?" Marissa questioned out loud.

"What is she saying?" Elena asked the young blonde.

"I don't know." Marissa mumbled, as she shook her head. She tried to listen in, but all she could hear were all the other noises around; a lawnmower running, people hammering and children playing.

"Come on." She added, as she grabbed Elena's arm before walking into the woods.

"Where are we going?" Elena questioned.

"I need to get away from the other noises, so I can hear what is going on better." Marissa explained.

"Hear what? What is going on, Ris?" Elena asked with a worried look.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but..."

"But what?" Elena asked when she paused.

"The spiked drink, Mason suddenly going into the woods and then my mom jumping on the phone and leaving... it's just all falling into place. Almost as if it's-"

"A set up." Elena interrupted. A look of panic appeared on her face, as she realized what was happening. She grabbed on to Marissa's arm, as she added,"Where are they? Rissa, where did they go?"

"I-I don't know." Marissa stated. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. When Elena began to talk again, she shushed her as she tried to listen in; tried to locate where Stefan and Damon were.

She could faintly hear them talking to Mason, but before she could fully pinpoint their location she heard the sound of gunfire, causing her to jump as a gasp escaped her lips.

"What? What is it?" Elena asked. "Rissa, what happened?"

"It's happening." Marissa breathed out, as tears filled her eyes. "Stefan and Damon... it happened."

Before Elena could respond, Marissa began to run through the woods, trying to use all of her senses to track them. She skid to a stop when she reached a clearing. She could tell they had recently been there, but now they were gone.

Elena came to a stop beside her, trying to catch her breath, as she asked,"What is it? Why did you stop?"

"They've been here." Marissa stated, as she glanced around and felt her eyes widen when she saw blood on the ground. She walked over toward it, trying to get a better look, when she heard the sound of a twig snap behind her. She spun around and narrowed her eyes when she saw it was Mason.

"Where are they?" Marissa growled.

"Where is who?" Mason asked back, playing dumb.

"Stefan and Damon." Elena answered, not in the mood for his games. "Where are they?"

"You don't need me for that." Mason said. He looked over at Marissa, as he added,"I'll let your friend here sniff them out. Then we can have a nice chat with your mother."

"We had a deal!" Marissa snapped.

"Yeah, we did, but I have a feeling you haven't been holding up your end of it." Mason stated, as he remembered her coming by the house earlier that day. She was supposed to stay away from his nephew, but she wasn't doing that.

"You son of a bi-" She began to say, as she took a step toward him, planning to attack until he grabbed Elena.

"Don't be stupid!" He called out, as he wrapped an arm around Elena's neck and placed a hand on the side of her head. "Necks snap easy around here."

"You have no idea who you are messing with." Marissa snarled.

"Yeah, I do." Mason said. "You're just a newbie vamp who is in way over her head. Step away from this and maybe I'll let you have a nice, long, life."

"I'm not listening to your threats anymore, lone wolf." Marissa said. "No moon, no shift, no bite. I can take you."

"Wanna bet?" Mason questioned.

"I do." Marissa said with a smirk.

In a flash she rushed over to him and jerked Elena from his grasp, then backed him up until his back slammed into a tree. She held him up by a hand wrapped around his throat, as she said,"Where's your fight now, wolfie?"

She kneed him between the legs, then tossed him on to the ground. The more she thought about what he did; threatening her to break up with Tyler and hurting her friends, the more angry she became. She kicked him hard in the stomach, causing him to slam against another tree before falling to the ground on his stomach.

She ran over to him and flipped him over, then began to punch him repeatedly in the face, not hearing Elena as she called out her name over and over. She finally grabbed the young blonde by her shoulder, causing her to snap her head to the side, her face vamped out and a snarl leaving her lips.

"Rissa, you have to stop." Elena said softly, trying to calm her down. She glanced down at Mason; who was knocked out at the moment. "He's had enough and we need to go. We need to find Stefan and Damon, remember?"

Marissa blew out a breath, trying to calm down and felt her face shift back to normal, before she nodded her head and began to walk along behind Elena.

They began to walk in the direction Mason came from, as Marissa tried to listen to where her mother could have taken the brothers. She came to a quick stop when they came across the old Lockwood underground cellar.

It was where Tyler had taken her to during his party. It was where she broke up with him at, but she couldn't think about that now. Right now they had to save Damon and Stefan somehow.

She could hear her mother inside, questioning the brothers, then gasped when she heard her mom tell her deputies to kill them.

Hearing her gasp, Elena asked her what was going on. She looked over at the brunette, as she whispered out,"She's killing them, Elena. My mom is going to kill them."

"What?" Elena gasped. "We have to stop her!"

As she went to run inside the ruins, Marissa grabbed her arm to stop her, as she said,"No, wait, we can't."

"What do you mean we can't?" Elena asked confused. "Rissa, this is Stefan. We can't let them kill him or Damon either."

"But-But she'll find out about me, Elena." Marissa stuttered, as she began to get upset. She wanted to save the brothers more than anything, but she was terrified of her mother finding out the truth about her. She could still see the look on her sister, Caroline's, face when she found out the truth. She didn't want her mother looking at her the same way.

"I'm sorry, Rissa." Elena softly said, before she jerked her arm away and rushed down the stairs.

Marissa blew out a shaky breath, as the ran her hands over her face. As scared as she was about her mom finding out the truth, she knew she couldn't let Elena go in there alone. She knew what they did to vampires and could only guess they wouldn't like vampire sympathizers either.

She let out a frustrated groan, before she ran down the stairs to join the others. She saw her mother and the deputies surrounding Elena, then rushed inside surprising the others.

She heard them ask Elena who else was with her and could see that one of the deputies was trying to point a gun at her, but she ran too fast around the room for him aim a gun at her..

She came up behind him and tilted his head to the side before sinking her fangs into his neck. When she heard the other deputy begin to fire, she used the man in front of her as a shield, then tossed him to the ground.

She ran over to the other deputy, knocking the gun out of his hand then punching him so hard he fell to the ground and blacked out.

When she heard her mother softly gasp, she slowly raised her head, feeling her face shift back to normal as blood dripped from her chin. Her vision blurred with tears, as she whimpered out,"Hi, mom."

_- (o0o) -_

Several minutes later, Marissa was sitting off to the side, as Damon drank from one of the deputies to regain his strength. Elena was tending to Stefan, while her mom sat as far away from her as she could with a confused and heartbroken look on her face. She was finding it hard to believe her youngest daughter was a vampire.

Once he was feeling better, Damon scooted over to his brother to check on him. "You need to drink some deputy blood." He stated.

"No. I'm gonna be fine." Stefan said with a groan. "It's gonna take a little bit longer."

"Damon's right." Marissa spoke up and said from across the room. "Bunnies are not going to cut it this time, Stefan."

"He said he didn't want it, okay?" Elena said, speaking to Damon and Marissa. She knew how human blood could affect him and how hard he worked the last time to get off of it.

Damon stood up, stumbling a little before he caught himself. "This is the most unfortunate situation. Two deputies dead and you..." He turned to look at Liz, as he added,"What am I gonna do with you?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Marissa questioned, getting her mother's attention. Liz looked at her for a moment, then quickly looked away with a pained look on her face. It hurt too much to look at her, knowing what she was now, knowing she wasn't her little girl anymore.

"Mom?" Marissa whimpered out, trying to get her attention again. "Mom, please. I know we don't have the best relationship ever, but I'm still your daughter. You can't- You won't tell me on me, on us, will you?" When she still didn't answer, she took in a shaky breath, as she continued,"If you don't keep this secret. He will kill you, mom, and I-"

"Then kill me." Liz choked out, interrupting her.

"No!" Marissa cried out.

"I can't take this. Kill me now." Liz tearfully begged, causing Marissa to jump up as Damon walked closer to her mom.

Damon leaned down, getting face to face with Liz, as he said,"But you were going to drag it out so painfully." Reminding her of what she said to him minutes before. He grabbed her by her arms, pulling her out of her seat, as Marissa began to cry out to him, pleading with him to stop and not to hurt her mother.

When he heard his brother and Elena begging him as well, he spoke up and said,"Relax, guys. No one is killing anybody." He looked back at Liz, as he sincerely added,"You're my friend."

He kept a hold on the sheriff, as he glanced around at the dead deputies on the ground, before saying,"We have to clean this up."

_- (o0o) -_

After disposing of the bodies, the others took Liz to the Salvatore house, while Marissa ran home to clean herself up and pack her mother a bag.

Thankfully her sister, Caroline, was out with Matt and out of the house. She wasn't in the mood to have to lie to her about why she was all bloody and dirty. She was already having to lie to her about where their mother really was for the next few days while she was in the Salvatore's cellar waiting for the vervain to leave her body so Damon could compel her.

Once she was done, she drove to the Salvatore house and knocked on the front door. She gave Elena a small smile, after she answered the door."Hey, sorry that took so long. I wasn't sure how long she would be here."

"Damon says it'll take three days tops for the vervain to leave her system. Maybe even sooner." Elena said, as she shut the door after the blonde walked inside.

The two girls began to walk further into the house, making small talk, until Stefan joined them. Marissa shot him a small smile, as she asked him how he was feeling.

"Better, thank you." Stefan answered, as they made their way downstairs to the cellar.

When she heard her mother and Damon talking about her, she came to a stop by the door to listen in, as her mom said,"Can you keep Marissa far away from me, please? I don't want to see her."

"She's your daughter, Liz." Damon pointed out.

"Not anymore. My daughter's gone." Liz said with tears in her eyes.

"You have no idea how wrong you are about that." Damon said, as he glanced over at the door, seeing Marissa standing there on the verge of breaking down.

Marissa sat her mother's bag down, then turned to walk past Elena and Stefan. She ignored Elena; who called out for her to stop as she walked along behind her.

"Rissa, wait." Elena said, as she reached out to grab her arm and stop her. "It's going to be okay. We'll compel her and-"

"Yeah, well, who's going to compel me to forget her words or the look on her face when she saw me kill that man." Marissa interrupted. "She might forget, but I never will. That look is going to be seared in my mind for as long as I live." She gave a bitter chuckle, as she added,"Which, now, is going to be forever cause of what I am. It will never leave me, Elena."

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the house, running to her car and quickly leaving the house. She raced down the road, but no matter how fast she drove, she couldn't stop seeing her mother's face.

It reminded her of the night when Caroline saw her. They both looked at her like she was a monster and maybe she was. Maybe she didn't deserve a family anymore. Maybe she didn't deserve anything.

As her vision began to blur with tears, she knew she needed to get off the road. It was dangerous to be driving when she was as upset as she was, but she couldn't go home. She was too scared to go home, worried that Katherine was waiting for her. The two things she was supposed to do; keep Stefan and Elena part and get the moonstone, she didn't do either one and she knew the vampire would be pissed at her about that.

Since she couldn't go home, she went to the one place she always felt safe. She went to the person that always had her back, no matter what.

She walked up to the front door, ringing the door bell, then waited for it to open. She didn't have to wait long, before Jeremy opened the door and flashed her a smile.

"Hey, Ris-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she rushed inside the house and threw her arms around him. He stumbled back a little from the impact, then wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He ran a hand up her back, cradling the back of her head, as she began to cry.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Jeremy questioned, as he pulled back a little to look at her.

"She knows." Marissa cried. "Mom knows and she-she looked at me just like Caroline did. Mom doesn't even see me as her daughter anymore. In her eyes, I'm gone." She lowered her head, as more tears fell down her face,"They both think I'm a monster and maybe they're right. Maybe-Maybe I am."

"Hey, no, no you're not." Jeremy argued. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him, as he said,"You're not a monster. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, I'll always see you as Rissa." He wiped the tears from her face, as he added,"You are always just Rissa to me. The girl I grew up, the one I ran in the woods with, jump in the falls with and climbs trees with. The girl who always had my back and knows that I have hers. You are my best friend, Ris, and nothing will ever change that."

Marissa softly smiled at his words and saw how much he cared for her in his eyes. She had no doubt he meant every word he just said. "You're my best friend too, Jer. You are about the only thing keeping me sane lately. I would be lost without you." She blew out a breath, before adding,"I know I would not be able to handle any of this without you."

"Good thing I'm not going anywhere then." Jeremy said with a smile. "I didn't leave during the princess phase, when you wore dresses and a crown every day. I had to call you 'Princess Rissa' for weeks, but I never left your side, and I'm not going to leave your side now either."

Marissa chuckled at his comment, before wrapped her arms around him and hugging him again. She rested her chin on his shoulder, as she thought about their past and thought about how just a few months before they admitted to being in love with each other before Damon compelled them.

Those feelings were still lingering inside her and she didn't know what to do about them. Things were already confusing and complicated, the last thing she needed was to fall for two different guys, but unfortunately life was never fair and that is exactly what happened.

She was in love with two different boys and in the end someone was going to get hurt and that was something she couldn't live with. She couldn't stand the thought of hurting either one.

_- (o0o) -_

_a/n - hey all, hope you liked the rest of the episode. To the guest review I got that wasn't a fan of long chapters, I apologize. Some chapters for this story will be long and some won't be as bad. It just depends on how many parts I divide the episode up in. I'll try to do better with future chapters, but I can't make any promises. Sometimes chapters will be long, sorry! Thank you to everyone still reading and ones who are adding the story to your fave/follow. Also big thanks to cecld16, RHatch89, Momsen-xxxx, LunaEvanna Longbottom, Lucy Greenhill, MammaMia2016 and Guest for reviewing. Happy reading!_

_ps - If you haven't already, you should check out the story 'Dark Paradise' that me and a friend are writing. We just updated it today! It can be found under my favorite stories or under the account New Orleans Darling. It is starting in season one and a Klausxoc and Kalebxoc story._


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